Ask Rei
by SilverSakuraStorm
Summary: Rima is a girl with a problem: her life is dull and drones on forever, on and on. That's why she has her own website, reinet .com, where she rants on blogs and gives advice to others. So what happens when the real world starts mixing with the cyber world?
1. My Secret Life

**Chapter**** 1: My Secret Life**

* * *

I sighed. It was another ordinary day for me. Get up, get dressed, brush my bothersome long hair, eat something, run to school and get greeted by fans of all kinds, run through boring schoolwork, so on and so on. School was out and I was checking off my mental schedule. Something didn't seem right… Oh right. It was Tuesday. Oh joy…

"What's the matter, Rima?" I looked up to see my pink-haired friend Amu. She was looking down at me. I was sitting under a blossoming sakura tree. It was the second week of 8th grade and already was I getting tired of the daily routine I had to put up with. Thank goodness it was the end of school. I couldn't wait to go home.

"Nothing…" I said, then added sarcastically, "Oh joy, look who's coming."

Nagihiko was running up to us. "Hello, ladies," he said jokingly. "How was your day?"

"Okay, I got detention for spacing out!" Amu droned. "How about you, Nagihiko?"

"Fine, same old, same old," Nagihiko said. "Still the top of the class. What about you, Rima-chan?"

_Time to put on the usual thing_, I thought. "Amu? Did you hear something?"

Amu rolled her eyes. "Rima, that was Nagihiko."

"Nagihiko? Who's that?" I said.

Nagihiko chuckled. "Very funny, Rima-chan. I'm right here you know." I cringed. _Funny_. I hated it when he, of all people, used it. It was weird; I was okay with everyone saying it but him.

"Well, I got basketball practice today. Enjoy your day!" Nagihiko ran off to the courts.

"Ja!" Amu waved, then turned to me for my annual scolding. Joy… "Why didn't you wave? That's not nice."

"Amu, stop that. Who do you think you are? My mom?" I coldly retorted, then stood up. "I gotta go. See you tomorrow." I ran off to home. Jeez, I hate Tuesdays! Fujisaki goes and tries to be buddy-buddy with me! I hate it! I do hope there's lots of mail for me. I needed something to take my mind off of things_._

As I skidded to a stop in front of her house, I brushed off any unnecessary dirt off my skirt and socks. Then I walked like a civil human to the front door and opened the door. "I'm home!" My voice ran out through the home. I went into the kitchen and found a note:

_Dear Rima-chan,_

_Your father and I are out of the house for the afternoon. We'll be returning a little before dinner. Hope you can make a decent meal!_

_Just joking, we'll be getting some sushi for tonight._

_Loves and kisses,_

_Mama and Dad_

Whoopee! Mom and Dad are out, so no bothering! Hurrah for parent-only outings! I raced up to my room and dumped my bag next to my light brown oak desk with a black swivel chair to sit in. I opened up my bag and looked into its contents. _Let's see what today's homework is_, I thought. Math, ick, English, okay but I'm not that good, Japanese, Science, ew, and History. Joy, all subjects for homework! I'm lucky there's no homework for PE!

After a long hour of homework, I came to my favorite and only good subject, Japanese. It was my hidden talent which was kept secret to everybody, everybody except for the teacher, but she swore to never tell anyone. I looked at the assignment, a grammar sheet and a simple friendly letter to her. That's gonna be a breeze! I took my pen and started to write as much as I can. Breezing through the grammar, I went on to the letter. I described how almost everything but Japanese was boring and how I needed a new thing in life. Finishing the letter, I put everything neatly away and took my most prized possession after my stuffed bear Kusukusu: my black Apple laptop. It was slick, it was awesome, it was everything I needed for my favorite thing in the whole entire world.

I logged on and clicked on that little internet icon. The page instantly popped up to my homepage, reinet .com. A colorful background of pink and red zigzag stripes was on the screen with green stars and teardrops in the pink. Ahhhh…I love that background. It soothes me from my days of nonsense and boredom. There were white, roundish squares for random stuff: login, links, so on, so forth.

After staring at the beautiful page, I came to my senses. I had to login of course. Pressing the login button, I came to the usual stuff. Here goes:

_Username: Rei_

_Password: kusukusu_

Instantly, I got myself in. But this wasn't your ordinary account. Now, before I tell you anything else, let me explain a few things:

Over a year ago, I entered middle school and I suddenly gained more fans then I had back in elementary. Now, I don't know why, but it just did. By the third week, I memorized my personal schedule. It's pretty much my schedule now. By the fifth week, I was sick and tired of 3 things: fans, my daily routine, and, of course, Fujisaki. I wanted to have something new, exciting, and fun. So on a drizzly (if that's even a word) day, I asked my dad how to make your own website.

"Here, let me show you," he said. After a whole load of boring stuff I think might bore the guts out of people (believe me, it did to me, but I had to pay attention), I finally made my own website, the one I was mentioning. I wasn't sure what to put in it, so I just put in a blog, an all about me page, and a chat with Rei page for a starter. Turns out, people liked those, so on New Years, I added the most popular link currently: the Ask Rei section.

And that was how I made the most successful website in Seiyo, of course, I never revealed who I am to my fans. I go by the name Rei. Let me explain. I learned that my name, Rima, was Arabian. Don't even ask. Rima meant antelope. Again, don't ask. Antelope in Japanese was _reiyou_, thus, the name Rei. Now where was I? Oh yes, the page. I looked at my inbox. (Rei's account was the only one who had an inbox) Guess how much mail I had? Give up? A ton, that's how much I could give you. Okay, let's see… I have several chat requests and a ton of advice-needing letters. First things first, chats. I clicked on the first one.

_Rei: Hello there_

_JayJayGal096: OMG! OMG! I can't believe it! I'm actually talking with THE Rei!_

_Rei: Calm down, girl. Relax, take a few deep breaths. It helps a lot_

_JayJayGal096: Thanks a lot, Rei_

_Rei: You're welcome. G2G, got more chats to do_

_JayJayGal096: OK_

That was OK. I'm used to freaked-out people. School can teach you more than just boring things. Minus Japanese. Okay, next one.

_Rei: Hi_

_CoolGuy09: Hey there, wanna go out?_

_Rei: NO_

_CoolGuy09: Why? I'm cool. My username even says so_

_Rei: First, I don't even know you. Second, I don't know where you live_

_CoolGuy09: I can tell you_

_Rei: That'll be violating the privacy policies, mister. Now I'm leaving_

_CoolGuy09: Wait!_

Creep… I hate it when that happens. Okay, one more to go.

_Rei: Hello. Can we make this quick? I got a few, okay a LOT, of advice to give._

_King101: Okay…_

_Rei: On second thought, I think I'll leave right now_

That was close! If you're wondering why I left, King101 just gives me the creeps. No, I never had a straight conversation with him. I never do with my fans. Okay, time for some advice giving. I clicked on the first one.

_Dear Rei,_

_I got detention today and it's on the same day as my all-girls outing with some of my girlfriends! And it wasn't even anything! Just daydreaming in class! HEEEELLLLLPPPP!_

_-AmuletCoolnSpicy_

Funny, Amu and I got an all-girls outing with Yaya too. I shook my head on that thought. I had sworn to myself to never question who that might be. Never in my whole life. I started to type up my reply.

_Dear Amulet,_

_Cool down, girl, it's nothing except an hour of sitting at a desk staring at someone's back. OK, now that is boring, but that doesn't mean you should scream. Maybe you should reschedule that all-girl's outing, who knows?_

_-Rei_

After looking at the other letters, I picked and wrote back to 4 other emails. Rei always writes back to 5 a week. Now that I think about it, I should go blog right about now. I went to my blog page and started writing.

_Date: Tuesday; May 11th, 4:42 PM_

_Mood: Annoyed_

_Title: RAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!_

_Today was another boring day, but it drove me mad. Tuesdays are soooo not my favorite day anymore. You want to know why? NF shows up and tries to be friends with me AGAIN. It happens every Tuesday since November! NF drove me insane since the day I met him! He knows A-chan more than me and he's almost PERFECT! I hate perfect people. They smile too much. I just love it when NF is creeped out. It makes me laugh! Ha! Ha ha! I just pictured his face! Ha ha ha ha ha! Sorry, I think this concludes my daily blog. I gotta go take a breather._

That'll make 'em happy. Swiveling around so I faced my window, I took a few deep breathes. Without the Internet, my life would be so predictable. Thanks to whoever made the Internet. You helped a lot.

_Bleep! _I turned around. I already got a comment? It was from this kid named BluePinkFlowers. Probably a girl.

_BluePinkFlowers commented at: 4:44 PM_

_Wow, seems like you have a hard life. NF must really be a pain in the neck._

I looked at the comment for a moment, then replied back.

_Rei commented at: 4:45 PM_

_Thanks, whoever you are_

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Thank you for reading my story! (bows) Review!**


	2. When 7th Graders Attack

**Chapter 2: When 7th Graders Attack**

Life never goes my way. And today was total proof. Confused? Here's what happened during lunch:

"_Amu…" I said, showing every bit of annoyance. "Do we __have__ to go to the 7th grade floor?"_

"_Yaya invited us to visit," Amu said, persistent to get there. "Besides, I need to ask Yaya something. At least for a while…"_

_I sighed. "Fine…"_

_~.~.~_

"_Ya-ho!" our annoying little apricot haired girl said._

"_Hey Yaya!" Amu said cheerfully. "How's 7th grade?"_

_Yaya groaned. "Horrible…" Then her overabundant happiness showed again. Groan… "How's everyone else?"_

"_Fine," Amu said, then her face turned serious. I steeled myself for Total Girly Whining, but got something way different. "Listen, Yaya. About our all-girls outing on Friday, can we reschedule it on Sunday? I got detention." My ears pricked. Was Amu AmuletCoolnSpicy? I shook my head. Remember my vow to myself!_

_Yaya grinned like an evil Jack-o-Lantern. "You followed Rei's advice? I knew you had it in you!" Then she pouted, "Though I wish Rei can make her members chat others, not just her… And invite others as members. Yaya wants to talk to Amu-chi and Nagi online!" I felt a tad annoyed. Was she complaining about __my__ website? I clenched my teeth to keep myself from yelling._

_Suddenly, Yaya turned to me. Gah! "What do you think, Rima-tan?"_

_I kept my cool and put on a confused face. "Think about what?"_

"_She means what you think Rei should add on her website," Amu told me. Of course I know, Amu. Just that you don't want to know I'm Rei._

"_I don't have an account," I said coolly._

"_WHAAAAAAA!" Yaya screamed. Gosh, she could sign up for a Scream Fest and win it hands down. Yaya grabbed onto my arm. "You have to get an account! Everybody who's cool has to have one! Even Nagi has one!"_

_Of all things… "No, Yaya," I said, completely annoyed."I don't."_

"_But, Rima!" Yaya whined, not letting go of my arm. "Why don't you have an account?"_

"_I just think it's bothersome to have an account there!" I said through gritted teeth. That, of course, was a complete lie._

"_But you have to have one!" Yaya said. I sighed._

"_Fine, Yaya. I'll have one."_

"_Good job, Yaya," Amu said. "Meet us after school at the library."_

~.~.~

And that's how I ended up in the school library, at a computer, with Amu and Yaya ordering me around. If it weren't for my secret, I would be yelling at them this exact minute that I know how to do this.

"Now type in ," Yaya ordered. I followed. Does she think I'm dumb? I resisted the urge to grab an encyclopedia and throw it at that 9th grader. Unfortunately, if I did that, I'd be sitting at the detention hall with Amu on Friday.

"Now click on the login button, then find the words Sign Up and click on it," Amu said. I followed, growing madder by the minute. Why did I agree to these idiots?

"Now fill the form out and click enter!" Yaya said happily. I quickly typed in what's needed. Here's how it came out:

**Username: **_ComedyQueen123_

**Email:** rmashiroqueenATgmail .com

**Retype Email: **rmashiroqueenATgmail .com

**Password: **_balabalance_

**Retype Password: **_balabalance_

**Yes, I read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policies**

I clicked enter, then a little bubble appeared. **Congrats!**, it read, **And Welcome to !** "Now what?" I asked bitterly.

"Have fun!" Amu and Yaya said together. Honestly, why did I become friends with these idiots? "I'm logging off…" I said.

"No!" Yaya said. "You have to at least read the blogs and send a letter to Rei so she can give you advice!"

"Maybe later," I said bitterly. Then suddenly another thing Yaya said came into my head and an idea popped into my head. "I gotta go home and do my homework."

"Eh? Why, Rima?" Amu asked with a perplexed look on her face.

"Yeah, Rima-tan! Why?" Yaya sobbed, though somehow still keeping the noise level down so we don't get kicked out. "I wanted to tell our usernames on ReiNet! It's the same as the ones on our AOL. Don't you remember? Mine's Pepe-"

"Bye, see ya' guys tomorrow," I hurriedly said, grabbing my bag overflowing with books and papers. Before Yaya and Amu could say another word, I rushed out of the library. I was going at a pretty fast pace that I didn't notice someone in front of me. _Crash!_ Books spilled all over as I fell to the floor myself. I immediately started grabbing my books when someone came down too. I saw a flash of purple. Wait a minute…

"Nagihiko?" I couldn't help but ask. The person looked up. Sure enough, it was the annoyance of my life: The Fujisaki Nagihiko. Gosh, I hate him.

"You finally remembered me, Rima-chan," he said as if I didn't hate him with a burning passion. "Good for you."

I scowled. "Whatever…" Then I notice Nagihiko picking up a yellow notebook. No!

"I never knew you were this good at writing, Rima-chan," Nagihiko said as he flipped the pages. Great, now my worst nightmare just found out one of my biggest secrets.

"It's nothing," I said. "Now give back my notebook!" I made a mad grab for it, but Nagihiko had to be taller. I blame basketball…

"Not until you clear this up for me," he said. I sighed.

"I'm actually the star student in Language Arts, meaning you're not, but now's not the time to rub it in. Only Sensei knew about it until you happened to find my notebook. And don't tell anyone or I'll definitely murder you. Now can you give me back my notebook?" I put my hands on my hips and gave him a hard look. He had a surprised look on his face. It was either because he never expected a violent threat from me or because I said it all in one breath.

He finally shrugged, then handed it over. I snatched it out of his hands, checked for any fingerprints, then gave another poisonous look towards him, then grabbed my bag and ran off again.

~.~.~

After coming back from school and eating dinner, I took a warm bath. After that, I dressed in a silky pink night shirt and matching pants. The shirt had a single cloud on it and the pants had multitudes of the same clouds. I was now sitting at my desk, finished with homework, now on the computer, as Rei, and was typing on my blog:

_Date: Thursday; May 13th, 8:59 PM_

_Mood: Sulking_

_Title: My Life Sucks…_

_You know how I said I hated Tuesdays? I take it back. I hate Thursdays. My two best friends, A-chan and Y-chan, just harassed me into doing something I totally didn't want to do. And then I happened to bump into NF. Wasn't that a happy-happy day? Please note the sarcasm._

_In other news: I just added a few new things to do on ! You can now make friends with other members! All you have to do is press the new Add New Friends in the new Friends corner, then type in their username. Instantly, they'll be added, but not if your friend refuses. Please note that I'm already on your list. Not only that, but you can now chat with your friends in the Chat corner. All chats will be recorded and monitored, though, so be careful in there. Also, if any of you is being harassed by a certain CoolGuy09, please notify me right away. I got my eyes on you, CoolGuy09. And you're going down!_

I clicked enter and logged off. Bored, I decided to log on to my new account. You know, the one Amu and Yaya made me do. I'll definitely get my revenge on them on the outing…

It took a while to log on as ComedyQueen123 than it did with Rei, but it did pop up. Right away, I saw several messages saying that AmuletCoolnSpicy and a PepeBaby66 invited me as friends. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but decided to click yes. Soon, I got wrapped in a conversation with them.

**ComedyQueen123 joined your conversation!**

_PepeBaby66: Rima-tan! :D_

_ComedyQueen123: …_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: i think we were a bit harsh in the library, Yaya._

_PepeBaby66: what r u talking about, amu-chi?_

_ComedyQueen123: Why am I here…?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: 'Cause we made you_

_PepeBaby66: 'Cuz we made u! X3_

_Comedy Queen123: Ugh…_

_ComedyQueen123: Hey! Didn't you say Nagi has an account here?_

_PepeBaby66: oh ho ho ho! y'd you ask? and why start calling nagi "Nagi" so suddenly? :D_

_ComedyQueen123: Just wondering… And it's simpler to type Nagi instead of Nagihiko_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Nagi's having trouble with his account, but he'll get it up within the next few weeks_

_ComedyQueen123: Ugh…_

_PepeBaby66: But nagi'll definitely come! XD_

_ComedyQueen123: Please don't remind me of him again, Yaya, or I'll hunt you down_

_PepeBaby66: Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! amu-chi! help me!_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Yaya, will you quit it?_

_ComedyQueen123: That's exactly what I was thinking, Amu._

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Ur welcome, Rima_

_PepeBaby66: u guys r mean_

_ComedyQueen123: You're welcome, Yaya_

_PepeBaby66: TT^TT_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Um… anyways, should we plan our a-g outing?_

A-g outing? I paused for a moment and stared at my computer screen. Oh, wait, Amu meant our all-girl outing. A_ pop!_ came from my computer, telling me that Yaya wrote something.

_PepeBaby66: yeah! i wanna stop at the food court!_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: rlly, yaya?_

_PepeBaby66: ;_; plz?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: ^_^;; Ummmmm…._

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: what do u think, Rima?_

_ComedyQueen123: What?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: our outing. u R going, right?_

I paused for a moment, contemplating what to say. I planned on going, but from the events today, it's likely that Amu and Yaya will be bothering me like today. Gosh, they were so irritating. Suddenly, an idea flashed through my brain. I grinned as I typed in the following response:

_ComedyQueen123: Of course I am. What do you guys think I am? A complete LOSER?_

After a half an hour of chatting with my "friends," I logged off, and went back on as Rei. I checked my blog, and sure enough, I got plenty of comments.

_CandyFlow345 commented at: 9:10 PM_

_Wow! This is sooooo kewl! I can't wait to chat with my friends!_

_HeSaidSheSaid02 commented at: 9:12 PM_

_I can't wait to start chatting with my bf!_

_SimplyKathy23 commented at: 9:13 PM_

_OMG! This is sooooooo AWESOME!_

_Sk8rBOY commented at: 9:24 PM_

_Nice!_

The comments were something like that. There was only one comment that didn't relate to the new feature…

_BluePinkFlowers commented at: 9:05 PM_

_Sounds like you had a harsh day… I kinda hated today too_

"Rima!" I heard my mom call. "It's past your bedtime!"

"Got that, Mom!" I hollered back. Getting into bed, I snuggled with Kusukusu. My dreams were filled with chat bubbles and revenge.

**That was a good chappie, eh? Reviews are nice, right?**


	3. All Girl Outings and Revenge, Oh the Joy

**Chapter 3: All-Girl Outings and Revenge, Oh the Joy**

* * *

Finally, Sunday. Us girls' annual-every-few-months all-girl outing. Where me, Yaya, and Amu all go out to the shopping area and do what all girls our age does: shopping, gossip, and, to my total dislike, boys. Before I go on, let me explain to you a few things.

First off, this thing pretty much started off back when it was close to the end of 6th grade, when Mom and Dad finally came to their senses and let me go shopping on my own, which I must tell you took forever and a lot of pleading. But they had a catch though: I can go shopping as long as I went with friends. Which was jolly good for me at the time, because at the time Yaya, who still was whiny and hyperactive and most likely to get lost in a store the size of my living room, was already shopping on her own. Next, the reason why I called it our annual-every-few-months all-girl outing because, obviously, it was just Amu, Yaya, and me, plus we didn't do it every single week, month, or heck even every other month. We just do it when one of us started growing out of our old clothes or when a new season started and one of us, which were more like Yaya and Amu, just had to get this new piece of clothing.

Moving on, this special outing was a special one for me. Why? Because since Amu and Yaya made me get a stinkin' account on my own site, I just had to give them torture back. So all week I planned out the perfect way to exact my revenge and scheduled it for, epic scary background music here, Sunday.

I turned myself around in the mirror, checking my profile view of the outfit I was gonna wear to the outing. I was wearing a light blue-green mini-dress that had the cutest spaghetti straps with a matching scarf that also had white stripes on it. Or was it white with light blue-green stripes? Oh, who cares? I also had on white tights and was planning on wearing my new light blue flats. Cute, but cuteness was almost always a mask for the villain. Or at least, that's what I think.

"Rima!" Mom yelled.

"I'm hurrying up, Mom!" I yelled back, took one last look at my reflection, and ran down the stairs. "Bye Mom! Bye Dad! I'll see you after lunch!"

"Have a good time, sweetie!" Dad said from the couch while Mom waved goodbye. I shot out the door and down to the street. I remembered all the landmarks I made back when it was my first time going to the shopping area with Amu and Yaya. There was the hedge with the gaping hole that the people who owned the property it was on never fixed. There was also the tree that suspiciously looked like chicken drumsticks. One last turn, running past the freaky dog that was always chained to its doghouse, and the old playground I remember playing at back in the good ol' days, and I finally arrived at the shopping area. I skidded to a stop, dusted off all specks of dust on my scarf and dress, and started to look for Yaya and Amu.

It wasn't long until a familiar holler rang out. "Rima-tan!" I did a 180 degrees turn and sure enough, there was Yaya and Amu. Yaya was in an orange tank top with a denim jacket over it, with blue jeans on her legs with white sneakers that were now light beige from all the dirt she kicks up. Amu had on a black and grey T-shirt with a glittery hot pink butterfly on it and a gray mini-skirt, plus leggings under with white flats on her feet.

I resisted from running and slapping the two silly. No, that wasn't part of my plan. I casually trotted over. "Amu! Yaya!" I said cutely.

"Yayyyyy!" Yaya said obliviously. "Now we're all here!"

Amu smiled. "So now what?" Amu's question was answered by a growl from Yaya's stomach.

"It's not even lunch yet, Yaya," I said bluntly.

Yaya guiltily laughed. "Yaya kinda didn't eat much for breakfast today…"

"Don't you always eat a lot first thing in the morning?" Amu asked.

"Yaya was a bit excited for today that she couldn't eat much," Yaya said with another sheepish laugh.

"I wouldn't mind getting a dango," I said, carefully choosing my words.

"That's a great idea, Rima!" Amu said. "While we eat dangos, we can catch up a little bit too!"

"Yeah!" Yaya said. "Dangos!" And so we got some sticky dangos from a nearby stand, found a place by the fountain, and started to talk.

"So," Amu said to me. "Rima, how's ReiNet so far?"

"Eh? ReiNet?" I answered. "Oh, it's, er, okay I guess."

"You guess?" Yaya yelled. "ReiNet is more than okay! It's awesome!"

"Whatever," I said, biting into the dango. I pictured Yaya screaming as I chewed on the dango. I resisted smiling. Better to not have questions asked.

We ate the rest of our dangos in silence. Once we finished, Yaya immediately clung onto my arm. "Rima-tan! Rima-tan!"

Where's an ax when I needed it? I groaned, "What, Yaya?"

"What store should we go to?"

I thought for a moment. "How about that?" I said, randomly pointing to a store with a headless mannequin in a pink T-shirt, blue jeans with a matching jacket tied around it, and a brown belt on display. I then saw that it was a bad choice, because I saw an evil glint in their eyes.

"LET'S GO!" Amu and Yaya said, taking my hand and dragging me in. Talk about the time to totally chainsaw them…

~.~.~

Amu and Yaya dove into the store and tore it apart like savages. They pounced on every article of clothing they saw that they considered worthy. "Rima, do you think this will look nice on me?" Amu held up a black jacket with pink rhinestones shaping a guitar.

"Uh, right, sure," I said hastily. "It'll look awesome."

"You sure?" Amu said.

"Just buy it," I said. "You can never have too many clothes, right?"

Amu raised an eyebrow. "Sure…" she said, and skipped to the accessory racks for something to match.

"Rima-tan!" Yaya said. "I think this'll look cute on you!" I gawked at what she had in her arms. An orange top, denim skinny jeans, and a pink cropped jacket. She also was waving a necklace with the hugest peace sign I've ever seen. It would've looked nice, except for the necklace, the jacket, and the fact it was Yaya.

"No way, uh-uh," I said. "I'm not walking around in the streets in that."

Yaya pouted, then called Amu over. Once Amu made her way over (now with a set of pink and silver bangles), Yaya explained her dilemma. "I think you'd look nice in it, Rima," Amu said.

"WHAT?" I screamed. Customers looked over at the commotion. "I'm not wearing that!" I tried to go to the exit, but Yaya clung onto my arm once more.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Yaya said with a cackle. She and Amu dragged me to the changing room. They shut the door and told me to try it on or else.

"Grrrr…." I growled a low growl, but there was no response. I then proceeded to take off my wonderful outfit I put together that morning and pulled on the other one. I looked at myself in the mirror once I pulled the jeans and top on. I guess I didn't look that bad… I stared at the cropped jacket and necklace. I slowly put both on and jumped backwards. I look terrible! So many colors! My eyes can't take it!

There was a knock on the door. "Rima?" Amu's voice said. "Are you okay?"

"Can we see you?" Yaya's loud voice chimed in. "Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we?"

"No!" I yelled. "I look like unicorn upchuck!"

"It can't be that bad," Amu said.

"Let Yaya see! Let Yaya see!" Yaya yelled.

"Ugh, fine…" I swung the door open. Amu and Yaya gasped. Finally, they understand. Now they can put back this appalling jacket and necklace and I'll keep the top and pants and we'll all be happy.

"It looks…colorful," Amu said politely.

"Yaya thinks it doesn't look nice on Rima-tan, but Yaya also wants Rima-tan to have a nice outfit," Yaya said.

"Why don't I just have this lovely top and these wonderful pants," I suggested.

"No!" Yaya whined. "Rima-tan needs to have the jacket and necklace! It goes together with the others!"

"I got it!" Amu yelled suddenly. She ran to the racks and came back with khaki pants and a cropped jacket that was dark brown. She shoved them in my hands and told me to take off the ugly pants and jacket, and put the new ones on. I slammed the door shut, tore off the ugly jacket and the pants, the shoved the newer additions on. I looked in the mirror. I looked….okay, I guess.

There was a rapping on the door. "Rima-taann!" Yaya's voice yelled. "Can Yaya see?"

"Impatient, are we?" I said.

"Yaya wants to see!" The rapping then turned into banging. I swear, that girl could apply for the job of human battering ram as well as human megaphone and handle both of them with ease.

"Fine, fine," I said. "Just don't break the gosh-darn door! I'm not paying if you break it!" The noise ceased immediately, and I opened the door. Amu and Yaya gasped. Again.

"Rima-tan looks fabulous!" Yaya exclaimed. I winced at the sound of the word _fabulous_.

"You really don't look horrible, Rima," Amu said. "You look…pretty."

I cringed. I didn't want to be pretty. I wanted to be Rima: Rima the cute serial killer who's going to be responsible for the deaths of Yuiki Yaya and Fujisaki Nagihiko.

"Can I just wear my old outfit now?" I asked.

"Sure," Amu said. "You can throw the ones you're wearing over the door while you're changing."

I breathed a sigh of relief, slammed the door, and proceeded to take the whole thing off. As I threw the necklace over the door, I imagined it hitting Yaya on the head. I stifled a giggle. Finally, I had everything I was wearing when I came into this dreadful store on. I tightened the scarf around my neck and came out. Amu and Yaya weren't in sight.

After taking in the empty seats, I looked up and down the changing rooms. I even knocked on every darn door to check if they were there. No luck whatsoever. Finally, as I was about to track down an assistant, I saw those two in front of the cashier, paying for a huge mound of clothing and accessories. I raced on over. "Why'd you leave me over there?" I demanded to the two.

"We wanted to surprise you with the stuff we got," Amu said. I looked at the mound and the long receipt the cashier was printing out.

"Do you want to have some bags with that?" The cashier asked.

I snapped at him. "What do you think? Yes, we do need some bags to carry all this stuff." The cashier then quickly bent down and came up with about five bags in hand. He folded every item of clothing and stuffed them in, all five bags were full. He bent down to get another one just for the accessories. Finally, he ripped the receipt out of the machine and handed it and all six bags to Yaya and Amu.

"Rima-tan, you carry this," Yaya said, handing a bag over. I looked inside, only to come face to face with the same jacket, top, pants, and necklace that Yaya had made me wear.

"Yaya," I asked sweetly with a hint of poison in my voice. "Why did you buy this?"

"Yaya wanted Rima-tan to have it. Rima-tan looks nice in it!" Yaya said.

"What if I don't want to look nice but run around the streets like a mad lunatic in cheap department store stuff?" I asked.

"Come on, Rima," Amu said. "We just want to do something nice for you."

I mumbled, "Something nice, my foot," and wandered around the store until I found a red plaid hat with a matching scarf. I bought it to compensate for the outfit Yaya and Amu had bought me. Now with two bags in my hand, I looked like a cliché blond. At least I wasn't toting three bags like Amu.

"Can I have some time to myself?" I asked Amu as we left the store.

Amu shrugged. "Sure, whatever. We'll meet up by the fountain and benches over by the sushi stand, okay?" After quickly explaining it to Yaya, whose eyes sparkled at the words sushi, I took off. After getting a safe distance away from the duo, I slowed to a walking pace. Looking at every window that caught my eye, I wasn't looking at what was in front of me, which caused me to slam face first into someone.

"I'm sorr-" I stopped my apology when I saw long purple hair dangling in front of me. I looked straight up and saw Fujisaki Nagihiko. Barf goes here.

"Oh, hello there, Rima-chan," Nagihiko happily said. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Fancy, my foot," I spat back at him.

Nagihiko raised his eyebrows. Then his eyes fell upon the bags I had in my hands. I quickly put them behind my back, but he was faster. Curse you, basketball, curse you.

"What's this, Rima-chan?" he snatched a bag from my hands and peeked inside. He pulled the orange top out. Oh no…

I started to rant. "Look, I didn't pick that. Yaya made me. So don't you think I'm some sort of dumb pansy blond that-"

"Very funny, Rima-chan," Nagihiko said, making me cringe. "I think you look would very nice in this."

"Shut up," I said. "I think I look horrible."

"You're just saying that just because Yaya-chan picked it out, right?" I stopped. Now that I think about it, I really think I looked okay when I was wearing the brown jacket over the orange top. It was just Yaya's overabundant energy that ticked me off. Then I shook my head. No, I'm not considering his advice. No, I'm not.

"Well, what are you doing here?" I asked. I looked at the bag he was holding. I recognized the logo as a store that sells fabric and sewing supplies. I snorted. "Why do you have that? Don't tell me you're a pansy that enjoys sewing."

"As a matter of fact, no," Nagihiko said. "I'm just buying some supplies for Auntie to sew. We Fujisakis aren't magicians, you know, nor are we tyrannical rich idiots. We need to sew our kimonos by hand."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure." Then I remembered what Amu and Yaya had said on Thursday. "So, you have an account on reinet .com, I heard."

Nagihiko raised his eyebrows. "Sure, I do, Rima-chan. Doesn't everyone?"

"Er, yeah, sure," I said hastily.

A chuckle escaped Nagihiko's mouth. "Are you trying to say we should chat together on ReiNet?"

Anger rose in me and caused me to turn red. With anger. "No! Why would I ever do that?"

Nagihiko smiled. "Well, then why'd you ask?"

"I was just wondering, idiot!" I spat back at him.

"Well, for your curiosity, I'll write down my account name. Then if I can get my account back up, then maybe we can chat some time." Nagihiko dug a piece of paper and pen out of his pocket. I don't even want to know what else he keeps in there. He wrote down something and handed to me. I held it like was a dead rat and stuffed it into my shopping bag. The same shopping bag that kept the outfit Yaya bought me. I shot a look I hoped translated in his big brain as "I hope you die and burn in a bubbling pot of icky blood while I'm stirring the pot and laughing like an evil murderer." Yeah, let's hope it does. After the 5 second glare, I shot down the street to Amu and Yaya.

* * *

**Argh, this was longer than what I was anticipating. I would go longer if I wasn't held down by a semi-limit by my lovely sister AKA my beta reader. Reviews are appreciated and welcomed!**


	4. Revenge and Other Things

**Chapter 4: Revenge and Other Things**

* * *

I stormed to where Amu and Yaya were supposed to meet me with a huffy expression on my face. I then folded my arms and leaned against a fountain while tapping my foot impatiently. I hate Fujisaki Nagihiko. I really do. He must die. Die a more painful death than Yaya and Amu should for making me have an account on my own site. Argh….

Fifteen minutes later, Amu came strolling over with now five or so new bags from various stores, along with the ones she had when we left the store, in her hands. She took one look at my scowl and quickly jumped to a conclusion. "Were you here for a long time, Rima?" she asked.

"No," I said bluntly, "only like fifteen minutes." Amu raised an eyebrow and joined me, dumping the bags down right between us so now people couldn't tell it was her who bought all that stuff. Like people would think a short pouting blond could buy twenty T-shirts in one hour. Yeah, right.

About 30 minutes later, Yaya came skipping over with one or two new bags in her hands, but with her ever-present cheery grin on. "Did you eat something, Yaya?" Amu asked.

"Noooo…" Yaya said innocently, but I could see the look in her eyes. Yeah, right. She probably ate 5 dangos and 7 taiyakis. Gosh, she's a pig. Yaya then spun around and clung onto my arm. "Now let's go eat some sushi!"

"W-wait," I said, "Sushi! I promised my parents I'd be back by lunchtime! I'm not gonna stuff myself with raw fish and then go skipping back home for a bigger lunch!"

"Aww…" Yaya said. "Yaya wanted to have some sushi. Yaya is still hungry…"

"Still hungry?" I retorted. "Really?"

"Really, Rima-tan!" Yaya yelled. "Like really-really-really-really!"

"Ugh, fine…" I held out my arm to let Yaya drag me towards the sushi shop. She grabbed it, of course, and sped right down to the restaurant. I heard Amu yell in the distance and the sound of her running to keep up. Once we came into the restaurant and Amu had caught up with us, Yaya had already gotten a table for us and I could see her piggish face glow with gluttony. I quickly looked at the menu and ordered some sake **(1)** and a little maguro **(2)**. Yaya and Amu took some more time and in the end, we were presented a huge platter of sushi with assorted kinds of sashimi, nigiri **(3),** rolls, and etcetera. Amu, Yaya, and I snapped our chopsticks apart. Suddenly, an idea popped inside my head, and I immediately started to scrape at one chopstick with the other.

"Rima?" Amu asked. "What are you doing?"

"Getting any piece of wood that's sticking out off of my darn chopstick," I answered.

"Please don't do that, Rima. You're getting weird looks from other people."

I looked up with a glare at Amu. "Look, I'm just doing this so I don't get splinters on my tongue." That sentence made Yaya stop eating. Her maguro hung on her chopsticks, soy sauce dripping off of it.

"Y-you get splinters o-on y-your tongue?" Yaya asked, with a definite squeak in her voice.

I seized the moment and said, "Oh, yes, Yaya, we do. I thought you knew that." Yaya shook her head. "Well, am I glad to let you in on this. It's really scary, actually. I heard of this guy in, like, Osaka, who got a huge splinter from using his chopsticks for eating his ramen. Poor fellow, he was hospitalized for a week and the doctors had to pull that splinter right out of his tongue. Even worse was that the doctors forgot to give him pain relievers. He was screaming all through the operation until they got that mean splinter out. Now I hear he has this small hole in his tongue and always scrapes his chopsticks before using them."

Amu and Yaya looked at me with horrified looks. Yaya looked at her sushi and chopsticks with a worried look. Then she dropped her sushi and started to rapidly scrape at her chopsticks. Amu followed immediately. I just picked up a piece of sake. Part one of revenge plot: done.

The rest of our time at the restaurant was normal, I guess. Our conversation drifted from school, to guys (ugh), to reinet .com until finally, Amu and Yaya were too stuffed with sushi to continue their ongoing gossip, so they asked the waiter to bring in the bill. I found this a perfect chance to carry out part two of my evilly-evil plan. I clutched my stomach and put on a sick-to-the-stomach face. "I think I ate too much," I moaned.

Amu and Yaya looked worried, which was good. "Is Rima-tan okay?" Yaya asked.

"I'm fine," I said in a weak tone. "Just a stomachache, really."

"You think you'll be all right?" Amu asked.

"Yeah," I said. Then I let out another moan. "I need to go the bathroom. Excuse me." I got up and dashed to the bathroom. Or so you think. When I made sure they thought I was in the bathroom, I dashed out and hid behind a wall.

Safe behind my wall, I leaned out and looked for where the heck they create the bills. My eyes spotted a cash register not too far from where I was, and there was nobody there! I stealthily dashed towards the counter and hid behind it. Scanning the it carefully, I spotted our bill and grabbed it. 2,072 yen **(4)**? Pshhh… Let me fix that.

I looked at the cash register, quickly tapped the correct keys, and looked at my result: 4,889 yen **(5).** Perfect. I printed it out, replaced it with the real one, trashed the evidence, and ran back to the bathroom. I washed my hands so Amu and Yaya wouldn't be suspicious and walked out of the bathroom.

I pretended to be looking for my friends, and I put on a happy expression when I saw them. I walked over and said, "I feel much better."

Amu smiled. "That's good, Rima."

"Yaya's happy that Rima feels better!"

We sat there for a while, swinging our legs and looking around, until our waiter came with our bill. I resisted the urge to smile evilly. Amu took one look at the bill, then her eyes bulged in shock. "W-what! 4,889 yen! I don't think we ate that much!"

Yaya looked at the bill. "That's a lot…." she said.

I smiled. "And this is why you shouldn't eat a lot, Yaya."

Yaya pouted. "Yaya didn't eat that much, Rima-tan."

I took the bill from Amu's hands and shoved it in Yaya's face. "Then explain this."

"Yaya only had 5 sushi rolls, 4 maguros, and 6 sakes!" Yaya said indignantly.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say…"

Amu sighed. "Well, I'll see how much I have…" she dug through her purse and came up with two 1000 yen bills. Amu looked at Yaya, who was still pouting. "Yaya, put your money in, too."

Yaya stopped pouting to look through her pockets and purse. Nothing. "This is what happens when you eat a lot of snacks," I said.

"Yaya's parents just don't give Yaya a big allowance!" Yaya said. I rolled my eyes.

Amu looked at what we had pooled together so far. She bit her lip. "We only have enough to pay for about half our meal," she said, then looked at me. "Rima, you have some money, right?"

"Wait, me?" I said.

"You hardly bought anything," Amu said, looking at the giant pile of shopping bags under our table. Now that I think about it, I bought one thing. Two, if you count Yaya's "present". Mom and Dad did give me a good amount of money too…

I sighed. "Fine," I said. I found my wallet in one of my shopping bags, the one that didn't have Yaya's outfit for me and Nagihiko's reinet .com username. Looking through my wallet, I found three 1000 yen bills. I placed them on top of Amu's money and the waiter gladly took it. Moments later, he came back with change and a receipt.

"You keep the change, Rima," Amu said. "All of it." I looked at it, and then shoved all of it into my wallet. Let's just hope Mom and Dad don't question me about my now jingling wallet. Amu took the receipt, folded it, and stuffed it deep into her purse.

"That was a good lunch," Amu said, stretching her arms.

"Yaya likes sushi!" Yaya yelled.

"Sure, Yaya," I said, and then looked at a clock that was conveniently close by. Darn, I gotta get home! "I have to go." After a quick goodbye with Amu and Yaya, I dashed away from the two.

I stopped at the playground from my younger years for a fresh breath of air. I shouldn't have ran that fast… Hopefully it isn't as late as I think it is, or else Mom and Dad will kill me. I leaned against the monkey bars, remembering a seven year old Yaya, still annoying, hanging upside down on it with her pigtails pointing towards the ground with tears streaming down her face because she didn't know how to get down. I stifled a giggle.

"Rima-chan?" a voice called out to me. I immediately straightened up and looked around, only to lay my eyes on the swings and saw Fujisaki Nagihiko (gag, choke, gag) leaning against one of the poles that held those darn swings up.

"What are you doing here?" I asked with twice the poison in my voice.

"Well, what are you doing here?" he shot the question back at me.

"Taking a breather," I said. "It's a long way to my house, you know."

"I see," Nagihiko said.

"Well, what about you? Isn't your house the other way?"

"Well, I felt like reminiscing about our times back in elementary."

"And you felt like walking all this way? Are you sure you're not stalking me?"

"Rima-chan, I'm not insane. I'm perfectly normal." Perfectly…. Well at least he half-admits that he's perfect. My eyes wandered up towards the top of the pole Nagihiko was leaning against and wished that it would come crashing down on his head. Unfortunately, the people who built it had seared it tightly against another pole. "You still have my ReiNet username, right, Rima-chan?"

"W-what?" I said, and then realized what he was saying.

"I bet you still do," he said. "Remember to add me on your chat list, Rima-chan."

"As if!" I spat at him. "I have to go home, anyways." I turned around.

"So I'll be seeing you tomorrow at school then?" Nagihiko asked. I left that question unanswered as I angrily stormed away.

~.~.~

After a wonderful lunch of noodles and last-minute homework, I logged on as Rei again, and started to blog:

_Date: Sunday; May 16th, 3:00 PM_

_Mood: Neutral_

_Title: I'm a Dragon and I just Blew Some Serious Steam_

_Today I went to the mall with A-chan and Y-chan. It started out well with dangos on top, but then things went wrong once the actual shopping started. I shouldn't have randomly pointed to a store… Y-chan bought me an outfit there that I'll assure you I will never wear that, as long as NF is alive and pigs don't fly. Then I took off on my own, but Fate decided to be evil and make me bump into NF. The bright-side of the day was that I got revenge on A-chan and Y-chan for making me do something (for those who are confused, refer to one of my previous blogs). However, Fate wanted me to be miserable and made NF appear in the old playground from my childhood, which I was there at the same time taking a break from my epic run home._

_Gosh, was my day bad or what? I don't know what to say…. Oh, and thanks for all the wonderful spam-mail about CoolGuy09. Though I didn't necessarily need to know his Facebook or his Twitter… But you guys are wonderful!_

_Wrapping up the blog now. I gotta go answer more mail._

After submitting my wondrous blog out into the Internet, going through chat requests while blocking all requests from CoolGuy09 and the like, I logged off of Rei and logged on as ComedyQueen123. You know, even though I was unwillingly forced into it, I think that I'm starting to grow on to this account. Oh goodness, I must be insane.

Fortunately, neither Amu nor Yaya was on and Nagihiko hasn't found out my account username, so my inbox was empty as Antarctica. After briefly surfing the web for an hour, I logged off and jumped back on as Rei.

Already, several comments sat happily in my inbox. All of them were for my new blog. I read them quickly yet carefully.

_AnimeFangirlROFLPunchKawaii commented at: 3:15_

_CoolGuy09 was asking for it when he kept on stalking me in the chatrooms :(_

_LittleMissNataree333 commented at: 3:35_

_LoL, I sure hope pigs don't fly. If they did, then it's the apocalypse ;D_

_LOLaCOASTER commented at: 3:37_

_I agree with LittleMissNataree333, flying pigs are creepy O.o_

And finally…

_BluePinkFlowers commented at: 3:09_

_Bad days sure suck… especially when you're dragged around with absolutely no choice._

After looking at all of the comments, I logged off and finally got off my computer for some, as Dad likes to call it, "rest time for my eyes and brain." Man, my life is tiring…

* * *

**(1)**_When Rima says sake, she meant salmon, the sushi. Not that the alcoholic drink that we weeaboos and people knowledgeable in Japan know and (not really) love._

**(2)**_Maguro, like sake, is a Japanese sushi (tuna, actually)_

**(3)**_Sashimi and nigiri are both kinds of sushi. Sashimi is just sliced raw fish with some sauce (probably soy sauce) usually served on the side. Nigiri is the raw fish on top of rice (sushi rice, to be specific)_

**(4)**_No, 2,072 yen isn't that much. It rounds up to about 25 dollars in the US, which is a decent amount of money to spend on a meal I guess._

**(5)**_4,889 yen is about 60 dollars in the US, which I daresay is how much money you shouldn't be spending on one meal._

**Sorry for all of the footnotes, but I like making things clear for my dear readers. Also, if anybody would like their username (or a made-up username that you would like to have) to be mentioned in Ask Rei, feel free to ask me if your username can be mentioned. Hope you like this chapter, and be sure to look out for the next one!**

**PS: Yes, I made some subtle changes to chapter 1 and 2 by changing Language Arts to Japanese. It was bothering me.**


	5. School Days Make Rima Dazed

**Chapter 5: School Days Make Rima Dazed

* * *

**

_Bee-beep! Bee-beep! Bee-bee-!_

My still-tired self rolled over and smashed the alarm clock off. And by smashed I mean turn the darn thing off and roll back into bed.

"Rima-chan!" Mom's voice yelled at me. "Do you seriously want to be late?" I groaned, got out, and quickly got into my uniform: an ironed white collared shirt with a grayish sweater thrown over it, a plaid green tie with a matching pleated skirt, and white tights. In my school, the dress code isn't that strict. Sure there's the uniform, but we can add accessories and stuff to it. Most of the student body wears a black blazer, for example Amu and Yaya, but select people like me wear a sweater over the shirt because it's more comfortable. Some people, like Amu, wear their blazers unbuttoned and loose. Socks aren't a problem either. For example, some girls wear tights, like me, while others wear knee socks or ankle socks. Amu wears plaid leg warmers that are green like the tie and skirt because she considers it cool. I personally don't have an opinion over that.

Once I finished straightening my skirt so it wasn't too short, too long, or crooked, I got out my red hairbrush and started the battle with my hair. After getting it stuck in my long hair at least six times and twice having it fly across the bathroom after pulling it out, I gave up and just put on the same black headband with the same black ribbon in it.

"Glad you made it down," Dad chuckled when I stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Thought you'll be stuck in there all day with that bear of yours."

"I'm not an elementary schooler," I said, grabbing a piece of bread and jamming it into the toaster. "I'm already in the 8th grade."

"I'm just teasing you, Rima."

"I know you're teasing me, Dad. I'm just making a point that I'm older than you think I am."

After that short conversation, I ate my breakfast of toast and some jam in peace. After that delicious breakfast, I jumped off my seat, injuring myself by landing on my left foot a little too hard. I got into my loafers that made me look one inch taller than I am and raced off to school.

~.~.~

Getting into the school was just as hard as before. I had to give at least seven poisonously icy glares to my fan club before they got the message and backed off. Rushing into the building and climbing up the stairs, I saw a familiar head of pink hair and another head with pigtails. Before I could say anything, Amu noticed me from afar.

"Hey, Rima!" Amu waved me over to where she and Yaya were in the hallway.

"Ohayo, Rima-tan!" Yaya said happily.

"Good morning Amu, Yaya," I said in a civil tone.

"Why weren't you on ReiNet during the week, Rima?" Amu asked. It was 8 days after the all-girls outing and I was still trying to figure out how to use the spare change I still had from that sushi. Fortunately, Mom and Dad didn't suspect anything. Though I think they're wondering if I went to a slot machine, which is impossible but I'm not going to burst their bubbles just yet.

"Homework," I said bluntly. Actually, I was caught up in all the messages people were sending Rei, but Amu doesn't need to know that.

Amu gave me a look, but then shrugged. She turned back to Yaya and started to enthusiastically talk about some weird actor. I myself entertained myself by bouncing on one foot and then another. Just as I was alternating between feet, I nearly slipped but caught myself in time. A familiar chuckle was heard from behind me.

"Careful, Rima-chan. We don't want to break any bones."

I spun around and standing in front of me was none other than Fujisaki Nagihiko. "When did you come up behind me?" I demanded.

"Not too long ago," he said with a smile. "You just happen so to be blocking the hallway."

Why I oughta… Amu and Yaya finally noticed Nagihiko. "Nagi!" Yaya said gleefully. "Ohayo!"

"Good morning to you, too, Yaya-chan," Nagihiko said.

"Hi, Nagihiko," Amu said. "Did you get your account back up?"

"I almost got it back up last night," Nagihiko said. "Apparently some clown decided it would be nice to hack into my account and change my password."

"I see," Amu said. I noticed she gave me a glare. Did she actually think I was the one to hack into Nagihiko's account? I know I'm evil, but I wouldn't stoop that low!

"Hey, hey, Nagi!" Yaya said. "Do you know about Rei's new chat section?"

Nagihiko nodded. "I heard about it."

"It's the most awesomest thing ever!"

"You mean 'most awesome thing ever', right Yaya-chan?"

"…What about you, Amu-chi? Don't you think it's awesome?"

Amu raised her eyebrows at the conversation and shrugged. "I guess its okay…"

"Liar," I said in a bored tone.

Amu jumped. "Okay, okay, I lied. Rei's chat section is pretty nice. Though wasn't it freaky that Yaya was complaining about it, and Rei put it up in less than 3 hours?"

"Well Yaya think Rei has special telepathy powers and knows what her fans want! Just like Santa Claus!"

I gave myself a mental facepalm when I heard what Yaya said, and no, it wasn't the bit about Santa Claus, though that was still facepalm-worthy. Either way, why did I decide to create the chat section on the same day? Why? I probably should've given it two to three months, but no, I was caught up in the moment. My train of thought crashed into a wall when Yaya said my name. "Don't you think so, Rima-tan?"

"Huh?" I said. "What?"

Instead of Yaya answering my confused questions, Nagihiko said, "Yaya-chan was just asking you whether or not you find it strange that Rei put up her chat system the same day Yaya-chan was complaining about not having one."

I blinked. "I-I guess it's a little strange and all," I said.

Nagihiko raised his eyebrows, but before he could say anything the bell rang. This caused all of us to jump and run towards our respective classrooms.

~.~.~

"And so…" The teacher for English said in his booming monotone voice. His lecture for English verbs and its tenses whizzed past me so much, that my notebook was becoming my doodle-book. I already had a stick figure stabbing a long-haired, overly-perfect stick figure with a stick and was just starting on another masterpiece.

"Mashiro-san." The abrupt calling of my name caused me to draw a bold dark line across my half-finished depiction of the same long-haired, overly-perfect stick figure drowning in a sea of demon mini blonds.

"What the-" I seethed quietly, but the voice, now recognizable as Boring English Teacher, continued. I then realized I was being asked a question and the whole class was staring at me. Now if I was the ditzy heroine of a shoujo manga, I would be red as a lobster slathered in ketchup. Fortunately, I'm Rima the deadly blond who's going to rip apart the real long-haired, overly-perfect stick figure some day.

"Mashiro-san, will you please tell give me an example of this?" Boring English Teacher said. I squinted at the board (I'm close to the back of the room, by the way). The only word that caught my eye was _perfect._

"You want me to give an example of this?" I asked.

"Yes, Mashiro-san."

"Then, um, Fujisaki Nagihiko?"

The classroom erupted in laughter. Boring English Teacher would've facepalmed if he had more emotions, but he just sighed. "No, Mashiro-san. Fujisaki-kun is _not_ present perfect, past perfect, or a future perfect verb. Any of these kinds of verbs is when a verb has a form of 'to have.' An example of the perfect tense would be like the present perfect form of "to talk", which is used in the sentence 'I _have talked_ for the whole class, yet Mashiro-san has managed to ignore all of it.'"

The class laughed again. Oh, so Boring English Teacher actually has some kind of humor? It's a miracle… Again, if this was a shoujo manga I would be blushing in embarrassment, but I just put on my signature icy face and shrugged. "Yeah, sure, whatever…"

Boring English Teacher sighed and continued to blabber on about verbs and what not. I returned to my doodling and quickly the class passed by without another episode. Boring English Teacher shoved some homework on to us and left without another word. Amu leaned across the aisle towards me. "That was hilarious, Rima!" Amu said.

"What?" Rima said.

"That whole Nagihiko-perfect thing! I'm going to tell him that!"

I was in shock. "Don't you dare say a word to him about this!"

"Why, Rima? Embarrassed on what Nagihiko will think?"

"Be quiet!"

"Ah, Rima! Nagi will think it's cute!"

Before I could make an awesome comeback, the teacher for Science waltzed in and started her lesson on atoms and the periodic table. I gave Amu another glare, and turned to another round of boredom. Oh gosh, pretty soon I'll have dozens of ways to kill that not-so-poor long-haired, overly-perfect stick figure. I slammed my head on the desk, which caused another Rima-and-teacher-talk-in-front-of-the-whole-class. My life is awesome, isn't it?

~.~.~

"Rima? Rima! Riiiiiii-maaaaaaa!"

"Wake up, Rima-taaaan!"

I opened my eyes slowly, and the first thing I saw was a pair of brown eyes and a finger poking my cheek. I shot up and slapped Yaya's hand away from my face. "What in the world was that for?" I screamed.

Yaya squealed and ran behind Amu. "You fell asleep in class," Amu said. "I didn't realize that until Yaya came up here. We just woke you up because it's lunch and we thought you might be hungry."

"It's lunchtime, Rima-tan! Food!" Yaya said from behind Amu.

"Right," I said, mindlessly reaching down for where I thought a delicious bento would be, but there was nothing but air. "Darn it, I forgot to pack lunch," I said to air, forgetting that I had an audience.

"Don't worry, Rima-tan! You can go and buy some bread with me!" Yaya said cheerfully.

I groaned, but agreed to the idea because my stomach was getting a tad moody. Fortunately, I had my wallet in all its jingling glory with me. I followed my friends down the hallway and staircase to the cafeteria. As soon as I saw the crowd around the bread stand, my stomach growled extra hard. That crowd was enormous! No way was I ever going to get my lunch! Just as I was about to back out of Yaya's idea and say I can starve for today, a tall figure with long purple hair emerged out of the crowd. My shock took over my hunger.

"W-what?" I half-screamed at Nagihiko. "What the heck are you doing here?"

Nagihiko smiled. "Isn't it obvious, Rima-chan? I'm just getting my lunch."

"B-but aren't you Fujisakis all your own personal chefs and eat gourmet five-starred meals every day?"

"I just forgot to make my lunch this morning and I didn't want to be burden to Mother or Auntie, so I figured I can buy some food at school," Nagihiko proved his point with a smile. "And why are you here, Rima-chan?"

I was about to say something, but Yaya said something before me. "We're here because Rima-tan forgot her own bento and Yaya let Rima-tan share her bread with her!"

"That sounds like a good idea," Nagihiko said. "But when I looked at the selections, there wasn't a lot left." He looked at Yaya's crestfallen face and added: "But you two can share with me. I have three breads after all." He held up his food.

"Yay!" Yaya cheered. "Yaya can eat!"

Nagihiko turned to me. "What do you think, Rima-chan?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but my stomach answered before me. Nagihiko laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

And so, that's how we ended up in one of the 8th grade classrooms with my friends and the hatred of my life. "Oh, Nagi!" Amu said while she scraped at her chopsticks before sticking it into her bento. "Let me tell you the funniest thing that happened during English!"

"Oh, is it about Rima-chan over here?" Nagihiko said. Amu nodded. "Sensei told me about it during class. So you really think I'm perfect, Rima-chan?"

I nearly choked on my bun. "No," I scoffed. "I consider you annoying."

"Then why did you call me perfect?"

"Because you're annoyingly perfect!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

"S-shut up!"

Let's just say lunch was pretty hectic, okay?

~.~.~

After school and after I pulled through all the homework all my teachers gave me, I logged on as Rei again and wrote another blog entry for the day.

_Date: Monday; May 24th, 4:59 PM_

_Mood: Tired_

_Title: I Think School's Out to Get Me_

_Okay, now not only Tuesdays and Thursdays hate me, every effin' day of the friggin' week hates me. Just today, not only did I have to slave through work, but I had to admit to the public about that NF was stupidly perfect. And then A-chan says she's gonna tell him, but good old Sensei went and already told NF before A-chan did. Not only that, but I forgot to pack a delicious bento and I almost had to survive the lunch crowd. Fortunately, a savior came and told me that Y-chan (who was also buying lunch) and me can share with what they got. Unfortunately, that savior was NF. Life is probably cackling in my face right about now._

_That's all for now, folks. I'll see you in another blog tomorrow night/afternoon!_

Hitting the enter button and shipping my wonderful blog to the Internet, I started to sift through all the chat requests and the advice-needy. After a rather awkward chat with a girl who kept asking me for advice about her mom even though I told her to send it to me on the Ask Rei section, I noticed my supposedly-now-empty inbox now was filled with two new comments on my latest blog and one chat request. I started with the comments.

_Silvernova34 commented at: 4:16 PM_

_I would've gone all massacre on the lunch crowd just so I could get me some food._

_BluePinkFlowers commented at: 4:04 PM_

_Wow, and I'm now glad that I'm not in your shoes for today._

I stared at the latest BluePinkFlowers comment. Ever since the beginning of the month I've been getting comments from…her. I'm pretty sure BluePinkFlowers is a girl. Anyways, every day BluePinkFlowers would be the first to comment at least 2 minutes after I send out my blog. It seems strange, but I always get strange users every now and then on reinet .com. I deleted the two comments from my inbox and turned to the chat request. Of course, it was BluePinkFlowers requesting to chat with Rei. I hesitated but remembered that Rei is polite to most people and always accepts chats. I clicked on it.

_Rei: Hello?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Oh! You're here! I was afraid you would decline!_

_Rei: Hmph, I allow myself to chat with anybody who asks, as long as they aren't annoying pervs_

_BluePinkFlowers: I see…_

_BluePinkFlowers: Well, it's a pleasure to finally be talking with you Rei_

_Rei: I see that, since you've been the first to comment on my blogs every day since around the beginning of May_

_BluePinkFlowers: Oh, I'm sorry. Did I alarm you with that?_

_Rei: No, not really. Your comments actually were a pleasure most of the time_

_BluePinkFlowers: Most of the time?_

_Rei: By most I mean almost all_

_BluePinkFlowers: That's good to hear_

_BluePinkFlowers: So… How's your NF problem?_

_Rei: Ugh, annoying as ever_

_BluePinkFlowers: He's really that much of an annoyance?_

_Rei: OF COURSE HE IS! He's too smart, too tall, too athletic, too frickin' perfect! And he thinks he can be friends with me just because he made friends with A-chan! ARGH!_

_BluePinkFlowers: Sounds like you're very angry_

_Rei: I don't think angry can express my boiling pit for NF_

_BluePinkFlowers: Though the way you express it sounds a little too irriational._

_Rei: Irrational? Yeah right, I have plenty of reasons for my anger._

_BluePinkFlowers: Name some_

_Rei: He's too perfect, he gets on my nerves, he's super friendly towards A-chan, he's way taller than me and that gets on my nerves, he's like the next Einstein…_

_Rei: Shall I continue?_

_BluePinkFlowers: I think I'll pass_

_Rei: So, what do you think? Good reasons or what?_

_BluePinkFlowers: I don't know what to say, but I guess all I can say the best way to solve some of the problems is to ignore it as best as you can._

_Rei: Hm…I don't know. NF has a big presence._

_BluePinkFlowers: Just try_

_Rei: I guess I'll try_

_BluePinkFlowers: That's more like it_

_BluePinkFlowers: Uh oh, my mom's here. Got 2 go_

_Rei: OK. Bye_

_BluePinkFlowers: Bye_

My computer beeped again as BluePinkFlowers signed off. I scrolled through our chat and smiled. BluePinkFlowers seems like a nice person…

* * *

**Augh, sorry for the wait. Several things jumped at me to keep me from writing this: School, life, the Internet, and my Percy Jackson obsession. Yeah… Well, on the bright side I gave you an extra long chapter to read. Though the size of it scares me…**

**Oh yeah, if you haven't noticed already, I've put some my good reviewers in the story like I promised, one directly and one indirectly. Try and spot them if you can.**

**Please review and tell me your thoughts! Thanks ahead of time!**


	6. Enter RhythmBoy

**Chapter 6: Enter RhythmBoy**

* * *

"Good morning, Rima!"

"Ohayo, Rima-tan!"

"Good-" I was about to greet Amu and Yaya when I saw a tall figure with long purple hair behind them, "…morning," I said the last word flatly.

"You don't have to be so cold, Rima-chan," Nagihiko said with a smile on his face.

I was about to snap back at him until I remembered my chat last week with BluePinkFlowers. I quickly turned to Amu. "Did you finish the Science homework yet, Amu?" I quickly asked.

Amu turned a little pale. "Oh no," she said, "I forgot. You see, I was going to do it last night, but you know how English takes up so much time and stuff, it was really late and I was sleepy so I figured if I rested my head I would be fine, but the next thing I knew it was morning and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said, cutting off Amu's gigantic ramble, "Can you slow down and repeat that?"

Amu sighed. "I forgot to do my homework." My hand immediately went up and slapped my forehead. Why is my best friend an idiot?

Nagihiko, as usual, thought he was invited in the conversation and quickly said, "What if Rima-chan here lent you her book right now, Amu-chan?"

Amu's eyes lit up. "Seriously?"

Nagihiko nodded. "If that's okay with Rima-chan, that is," he said.

Amu turned to me with sparkles in her eyes. "Is it okay with you, Rima? Is it? Is it?"

"Um…" I said, taking a hasty step back. I looked from sparkly Amu, to smiling Nagihiko, then to the curious Yaya, then back at Amu. "S-sure…" I said.

"Yay!" Amu jumped up and down, making every eye in the hallway turn towards us. Amu, ignoring the fact that we now had a bigger audience, hugged me tightly. I choked a little on air. "Thank you, Rima, thank you!" She jumped up and down again, this time with me in her arms.

"Okay," I said, breathing faster now as Amu jumped. "Now can you let go of me?"

"Oh," Amu said, releasing me from her clutches. I quickly patted my uniform flat as possible and gave Amu my science book, which she took and raced to the library to read it before the bell rang.

Yaya quickly said, "Ne, Nagi."

"Hm?" Nagihiko said, with a smile still plastered across his pathetic face.

"Did you get your ReiNet account back up yet?"

"As a matter of fact, Yaya, yes I did," Nagihiko said happily. "Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to add you and Amu-chan as friends."

Yaya pouted. "Aw…"

"Don't worry, Yaya-chan," Nagihiko said, trying to cheer up Yaya by the looks of it. "You can invite me today during the evening."

Yaya perked up and you could almost see sparkles behind her. "Really?" she said with excitement dripping in her voice.

Nagihiko nodded. "Yep."

"Yaya can't wait to tell Amu-chi about this!" Yaya said happily.

"And what about you, Rima-chan?" Nagihiko said, turning to yours truly.

"Eh? Me?" I said. "Not really."

"What?" Yaya screamed, attracting more attention from passing students. "Nagi finally got his account back up, Rima-tan! He hasn't been on ReiNet for nearly a month! You should be happy!"

"Not everybody has to celebrate about it, Yaya," I said. "It's not like everything revolves around one person." Yaya and Nagihiko then lost their previous expressions and were dead silent.

"Oh…" Nagihiko said, plastering a smile on his face. "Um, I better get to class." Without another word, Nagihiko left.

"Rima-tan…" Yaya said, turning to me. "Yaya thinks your hurt Nagi's feelings."

"How?" I asked.

"Rima-tan doesn't have to be that cold," Yaya said.

"But what if I'm cold all the time?" I asked. "I better get to class. Tell Amu that she should finish reading and give me back my textbook. I'll see you at lunch." I turned and left towards class.

~.~.~

After homeroom was over and there was a little break until the next teacher came in, Amu turned to me. "Yaya told me that you hurt Nagi's feelings," she said.

"Yeah, so?" I said.

"It's not nice to hurt people's feelings, Rima," Amu nagged.

"I know, I know," I said, brushing off Amu's comment.

"Jeez, Rima. What if someone said that they didn't care about you or anything you did?"

I thought for a moment. "I'd send my fan club out on them," I said bluntly.

Amu looked slightly shocked, but quickly recovered. "R-right. Forgot that you had one…" she sheepishly said with a small laugh.

The door slid open and the Japanese teacher strolled in. I sat up a little straighter, but then remembered that nobody really knew that I was good at this subject. Only Sensei and I…and I guess Nagihiko too. I crossed my arms on the desk and rested my head on them, with a half-bored expression on my face.

"Good morning, class," Sensei said cheerily.

"Good morning, Sensei," the class chimed back. I rolled my eyes. Are we in eighth grade or are we in second grade?

"Now," Sensei said, plopping her messenger bag on the desk and dug through it. Even from where I was sitting in the back, you can see various items spilling out of the fat messenger bag: spare boxes of chalk, a calculator, English to Japanese dictionary, several novels, and some stranger things like a manga and an innocent bento. As much as I love this subject and Sensei, she sure can be a bit scatterbrained. Finally, Sensei dug up a slightly crumpled lesson plan and our textbook. "Okay, everybody should turn to page 164 in your anthology now."

I bent down to get my book, with only a minor injury of bumping my head under the desk. I held my tongue for any angry-Rima-rant that'll ensue if I let myself. Instead, I turned to page 164. The title "The Wise Old Woman" jumped out at me. Sensei quickly explained. "We'll be reading a story that hopefully you read. How many of you know this?" A good number of kids, including me, raised their hands. Sensei smiled. "Good, now who-" She noticed a hasty hand waving in the air from across the room. "Yes, Nakamura-kun?"

Nakamura quietly put his hand down and said softly, "Uh, Sensei, what about the homework we have to pass in?"

Sensei looked surprised while the class giggled. I sighed. "R-right. Thanks, Nakamura-kun. Now, come on class, pass those rough drafts down to the front!"

After the class roared to life as we all tried to find our rough drafts. Some of us, like me, found them immediately. Others, kind of like Amu, had trouble finding it. In the end though, all of the class passed it up to front and the people at the front handed in their piles. Once Sensei stuffed all the papers in the bag, she returned to "The Wise Old Woman." "Okay," she said. "Now why doesn't Nakamura-kun here start us off by reading the first page?" Nakamura looked like he wanted to die on the spot. Wimp.

"Um, okay," Nakamura said, stuttering. "U-um… 'Once upon a time…'" I put my elbow on the desk and rested my chin on my hand while I listened to Wimpy Nakamura stumble through the first page.

~.~.~

That night, after finishing my homework, I started up my laptop. After getting through to the Internet and clicked the login button. Just as I was about to type in Rei's info, I paused for a moment. Well, I haven't been on ComedyQueen123 for a week or so, so it's about time to get on before my friends freak out. I quickly erased Rei from the username field and typed in ComedyQueen123's instead.

The moment I logged on, a beep came from my computer. Yaya was inviting me to chat. I sighed and clicked OK.

**ComedyQueen123 has joined your conversation**

_ComedyQueen123: OK, Yaya, what now?_

_PepeBaby66: yay! rima's back on! ^_^_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: It's good to see you back, rima_

_ComedyQueen123: Homework really catches up on you, you know_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: I know what you mean OTL_

_PepeBaby66: o look! nagi's on!_

_ComedyQueen123: *groan*_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: O come on, rima. Nagi isn't that bad_

_ComedyQueen123: *grumble, grumble*_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Sigh, I'll invite him._

_ComedyQueen123: NO_

_PepeBaby66: o, so rima wants to invite nagi herself?_

_ComedyQueen123: What? NO_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: I thought nagi said that he gave u his username?_

_ComedyQueen123: It's burning in a little bag in the back of my closet._

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: I see… ^ ^;;_

_PepeBaby66: i'm inviting nagi!_

_ComedyQueen123: NO_

**RhythmBoy has joined your conversation!**

_PepeBaby66: welcome to the new world of chat, nagi!_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: It's good to see u back, nagi_

_RhythmBoy: Thank you, you two_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Ur welcome. Now for rima…_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima, now's time for u to say hi to nagi_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_PepeBaby66: rima?_

_ComedyQueen123: Okay, okay. Argh…_

_RhythmBoy: Oh, nice to see you here, Rima_

_ComedyQueen123: Yaya, you know what you did can be spam_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima…_

_ComedyQueen123: Yes, Amu?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Say hi to nagi_

_ComedyQueen123: Geez, you sound like my mom Amu_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima…_

_ComedyQueen123: Augh, ok_

_ComedyQueen123: Hi to Nagi_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: …_

_ComedyQueen123: What, you told me to say "hi to Nagi"_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: OK…_

_RhythmBoy: So, Rima, have you added me to your friend list?_

_PepeBaby66: rima says that the note w/ ur username is burning in a bag in the back of her closet_

_ComedyQueen123: Yaya! Don't tell him that!_

_PepeBaby66: But u didnt say that when u said it in the 1st place!_

_RhythmBoy: Well, that's nice to hear…I guess_

_ComedyQueen123: I'm leaving_

_PepeBaby66: wut! NO!_

I closed the conversation and logged off. Then, I logged in as Rei. As soon as I was on, I started to type a blog.

_Date: Monday; May 31st, 5:10 PM_

_Mood: Tired_

_Title: He's here, he's there, he's EVERYWHERE_

_You know what? My day was actually pretty good…at first. Yes, I bumped into NF with A-chan and Y-chan, but that was the only time I saw NF at school. Japanese class was a blast (ha ha…that kind of rhymes). Anyways, you know what happened today that kind made me ticked? NF can now chat with me online. Isn't that wonderful. Now, he can stalk me at school, find me at the mall, and now bother me online. I'm telling you, this guy might as well have a teleportation device and a tracker on me. Ugh…_

_Well, that's all for now. I now have to make sure that none of my clothes has a tracker on them._

Just as I sent my blog, I noticed a new chat request sitting in my inbox. The username read BluePinkFlowers. I raised my eyebrows, but then smiled a tiny smile and clicked OK

* * *

**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Okay, now that's out of my system, thank you reading through another (long) chapter with me. I swear, my chapters just keep on getting longer and longer. Hopefully, you'll never see the scroll bar at a tiny sliver. The day that happens is the day Ask Rei kills me. (Ha ha ha…just kidding…I think) So yes, Nagi is finally online to bother the heck out of Rima. Will that go well? Well, I have to think about it and write the next chapter to see. (insert sweatdrop) Hopefully I'll write a next chapter by the beginning of April. But until then, REVIEW!**


	7. Summer for Rima, Summer for Rei

**Chapter 7: Summer for Rima, Summer for Rei**

* * *

"Bye, Rima! Have fun at school!"

"Bye, Mom! Bye Dad!" I yelled as I grabbed my bag, slipped on my shoes, and raced out the front door. The sun glared at me and I stopped for a moment to squint my eyes at it and tug at my short sleeve shirt. Yes, it was summer and it was time for the summer uniform. The skirt, shoes, and tie were the same, but now I wore a gray vest and a white short sleeved shirt. I sighed, made sure that my socks were the ankle ones, and returned to my Rima-making-mad-dash-to-school dash.

"Morning Rima!" Amu called to me from the gate when I reached school and slowed to a walk. She just arrived, like me. Amu's uniform still looked the same as what she was wearing at the start of the year.

"Still wearing the jacket I see," I mused.

"Hey! I'm wearing a short sleeved shirt under it!" Amu said. "And the jacket's thinner!"

"Right, right," I said.

"Amu-chi! Rima-tan!" Yaya dashed up from behind Amu and tackled-hugged her.

"Ah!" Amu said. "Can't. Breathe." However, Yaya didn't hear it and I watched as Amu turned blue.

"Yaya," I said bluntly, "Amu's turning different colors. You better let go now."

"Whaaaaa?" Yaya said, releasing Amu from her grip. Amu quickly started to massage her neck while taking deep breaths of fresh air.

"Honestly…" Amu said, but then she looked up and saw something. Actually, somebody. "Oh! Nagi! Over here!"

"Good morning, girls," Nagihiko said happily as he jogged his way over to where we were.

"Morning, Nagi," Amu said.

"Good morning!" Yaya sung. Nagihiko then turned to me.

"Um, good…morning," I said.

"I presume that you did all of your homework, Rima-chan," Nagihiko said with a glint in his eye. Was he trying to provoke me? I was about to snap back, but then I remembered what BluePinkFlowers said. BluePinkFlowers has been talking to Rei a lot, recently. Almost every day, actually. Most of the time, I just ramble about my day and BluePinkFlowers just tells me to bite my tongue next time I have the need to have a spaz attack. Lately, I've been thinking that she is kind of right.

"As a matter of fact, yes I did," I said to him. Nagihiko raised his eyebrows, but then started a conversation with Amu. I on the other hand, gave a mental glare to Nagihiko, and told Yaya that I should get to class and they should too.

~.~.~

"Alright, alright," Boring English Teacher said, calming down the class to a dull roar. It was the start of homeroom and, if you couldn't tell already, Boring English Teacher was our homeroom teacher. Boring English Teacher cleared his throat and said, "Now, before I take attendance, I have a very important announcement to make." Amu gave me a look that saying, "If this is about a test in English, I'm dead." I just gave her my "you're incompetent" look.

Boring English Teacher continued. "As you all know, it's the middle of June and closing in on summer vacation." There was cheering in the classroom, which took a while to quiet down. "Anyways, as a gift from the teachers to you for the summer, the 8th grade as a whole will be having a field trip right before summer break." That made the class erupt in noise and questions.

"Will it be the aquarium?"

"The zoo?"

"Is it going to be a museum?"

"Dude, it's almost summer vacation. They'll probably take us somewhere fun. Like the beach!"

"You idiot! It's school! They won't be taking us to the beach unless it's for biology! I think it'll be a farm!"

"We will be going on a camping trip," Boring English Teacher said, silencing the class. Of course, not without a groan. "The trip will be in two weeks. We will be driving up to a forest where we rented a camping ground. I'll be passing out a packing list of what you should bring and a permission slip for your parent or guardian to sign. Any questions?" A hand was raised in the front. Boring English Teacher gave a nod to the boy who the hand belonged to.

"Will we be in groups?" he asked. "And can we choose who's in our groups?"

"Yes, we will be in groups," Boring English Teacher said. "And no, you may not." There was a loud groan from various boys and girls. "Instead, we'll be mixing with Class A and you'll be grouped with some students from that class."

Wimpy Nakamura raised a shaky hand. "Um, don't we usually have groups, uh, within the class? Why are we going with Class A?"

"Because," Boring English Teacher said, "it'll be better to control a group with more adults helping rather than one."

"But wouldn't the ratio be the same..?" somebody mumbled in the back. I held back a snort.

Boring English Teacher however was unfazed by the comment, or maybe he didn't catch it. He just shuffled his papers and plucked out the attendance sheet. "Abe Nanami," he said dully, starting off another regular, listless day. Yippee.

~.~.~

"Whaaaa…? You're going on a field trip?" Yaya said, scraping her chopsticks as she said it.

Amu nodded, then swallowed her food. "The whole 8th grade. Right, Nagi?" She turned to the only male at our little lunch corner.

Nagihiko nodded. "That's right, Amu-chan. And I believe your class will be mixing with mine."

"Oh right!" Amu said, clapping her hands together. "You're in Class A! I totally forgot!"

"That sounds fake, Amu," I said, before I chomped down on a piece of beef curry. "You could be lying."

"Rima!" Amu said.

"Fine, fine. Ignore my opinion, jeez," I said, swallowing the spicy curry. Nagihiko laughed at that. I glared at him while taking another bite of my curry.

"So," Nagihiko said. "Are you doing well in _Japanese class_, Rima." I nearly choked on a piece of beef, but thankfully I managed to swallow and glare at him.

"It's fine, thank you very much," I said through gritted teeth.

"My, my, feisty aren't we?" Nagihiko said with that silly smile on his face.

I quickly got up and smiled down at him. "Why don't you and I go for a walk." Nagihiko raised his eyebrows, but got up, now towering over me.

"Then let's go," he said happily, indicating the door. I pouted and marched out the door, with Fujisaki Nagihiko right by my side.

"Eh! Nagi! Rima! What about your lunch?" Amu cried. Nagihiko quickly told Amu that she can put our lunches at our desks in our classrooms, then turned back to me and waved at the door. I glared at him again, and marched out the door.

"What's with the sudden walk, Rima-chan?" he said, making the honorific very, very staccato.

"Don't you know when to shut your mouth?" I said, turning around to face him. "Didn't I tell you that it's only between Sensei and I? I didn't mention Amu and Yaya."

"Awww…" Nagihiko said. "But why, Rima-chan? Isn't good to express your talents?"

"Look, I just don't want to be that one person that everybody relies on to help them. That's for you. My life is busy as it is."

"Oh, why? You don't seem to be doing much except running around town and staying online."

That line caught me. Reinet .com was the reason, what with answering mail, chatting with people, blogging about my life, and now monitoring the chat system. Plus I have my other account to manage now or else Amu and Yaya will freak. However, Nagihiko didn't need to know all that.

"What's the matter, Rima-chan? Cat got your tongue?" Nagihiko said, bending down so that his face was level with mine.

"No," I said. "My life just likes pushing me around, that's all."

"How so?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"I don't know. If you happen so to be a top secret agent, yes. Ordinary school girl, no."

"Well, I'm as normal as it gets, you hear? You're the oddball." Nagihiko gave a confused look, but I just brushed past him, down the hallway, and towards my next class.

~.~.~

School passed without another incident and I hurried home. After bidding good afternoon to Mom and Dad, I started trudging through the mess known as homework. Boring English Teacher and Math Teacher decided to be evil maniacs and assigned us a huge load of homework. After making through the easier or lighter ones such as Japanese and Science, I started my long and hard battle through Math and English, starting with English. Halfway through though, I gave up and decided to take a break. Grabbing my laptop and pushing aside the mess my homework made, I booted up my computer.

After the usual procedures, I was up and running as Rei. I decided to hold off on the blog until later, when all my work is done. Instead, I checked my inbox. Several chat requests, five reports of abuse in the chat rooms, and a whole load of advice-needing mail. I decided to go through the advice-needy. The first ten were the usual boy-girl stuff. The next five wanted their grades to be brought up. Another eight about how to talk to boys. In the end, I chose one boy-related one, two regarding school, one about family, and the last about friends. After sending the last one, I checked back to my inbox for reports. The first three reports were just hoaxes, one was just another CoolGuy09 report, and the last one was the only serious one. After getting through those, I went through chats. After quickly getting over with a bunch, I looked at the only one left: BluePinkFlowers. I clicked confirm.

_Rei: What's up?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Oh, hello._

_BluePinkFlowers: I'm fine. Thanks for asking. How was your day?_

_Rei: OK, I think_

_BluePinkFlowers: You think?_

_Rei: What? Do I have to have an opinion on every single day?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Hm, I guess not. Some days are just too ordinary to describe._

_BluePinkFlowers: So are you holding on to my advice or has the Rei Apocalypse started?_

_Rei: Ha ha ha ha ha, no. The Rei Apocalypse hasn't begun. Your advice is working well. If you wanted to, you could make your own advice column and put me out of business_

_BluePinkFlowers: But you are the best when it comes to advice, Rei. I can never match up to you_

_Rei: Aw, that's quite flattering._

_BluePinkFlowers: But flattery gets you nowhere_

_Rei: Mm, good point._

_BluePinkFlowers: NF OK?_

_Rei: Still annoying, but manageable. Hopefully he'll be tamed soon._

_BluePinkFlowers: Ha ha, you make it sound like he's some animal_

_Rei: Well, I guess he's not THAT wild, maybe like a dog that just follows you around._

_BluePinkFlowers: And is perfect in everything he does?_

_Rei: Ha ha, yeah. Let's not forget that._

_Rei: Shoot, I have to finish homework. You okay if I stop this chat?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Not at all. I have to take care of a few things, too._

_Rei: Okay then, see you tomorrow!_

_BluePinkFlowers: I'll be looking forward to it._

I closed the chat and logged off. Just as I was about to shut down my computer, I looked over at my messy pile of homework. Do I really want to go back to misery? I thought about it. Maybe fifteen more minutes online. I logged in as ComedyQueen123. Immediately, I noticed a new friend request and a chat request. I checked the username on the friend request: RhythmBoy. I clicked no and turned to the chat request. It was just Amu inviting me to a group chat. I clicked yes.

**ComedyQueen123 has joined your conversation!**

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Hey there rima!_

_PepeBaby66: rima-tan :D_

_ComedyQueen123: Hey guys_

_RhythmBoy: Hello there, Rima-chan_

_ComedyQueen123: What are you doing on here?_

_RhythmBoy: Yaya-chan invited me_

_ComedyQueen123: Yaya…_

_PepeBaby66: nagi's our friend too_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Yaya's got a point there, Rima_

_ComedyQueen123: Hmph, fine_

_RhythmBoy: So how was your day, Rima-chan?_

_ComedyQueen123: Fine until you rained on it_

_RhythmBoy: But I'm not a cloud, Rima-chan. I'm a person just like you._

_ComedyQueen123: It's called figure of speech. Learn it, live it, love it._

_RhythmBoy: But I already do_

_ComedyQueen123: Well then go relearn it._

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Come on you guys, do u have to have some kind of weird banter everywhere we are?_

_ComedyQueen123: Oh, then I should be a civilized person and act like this guy's my friend?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Ugh, I feel like this is gonna be one heck of a chat_

_ComedyQueen123: I second that motion_

I managed to drag the conversation out a little longer, half an hour to be exact, until I realized I still had to do the rest of Math and English. I groaned, signed off, and went back to life. Oh the joy.

* * *

**D-Did I just… BOO-YEAH! I MANAGED TO WRITE A WHOLE CHAPTER BY THE START OF APRIL! JUST LIKE I PROMISED! YIPPEE! (cheesy victory dance goes here…lolz) Anyways…Thanks for reading through (quickly checks page number) another 7 pages of Ask Rei. Chapter 7…and 7 pages… Anyways, please review!**


	8. Asking Rei Actually Gets Interesting

**Chapter 8: Asking Rei Actually Gets Interesting**

* * *

"Morning Rima!"

"Ohayo, Rima-tan!"

"Good morning, Amu. Good morning, Yaya," I said plainly.

"Hey, hey, Rima-tan," Yaya said. "Can I ask you something?" Amu gave Yaya a sharp jab in the stomach with her elbow, which caused Yaya to whimper.

"Um, sure?" I said.

"Are you and Nagi in like some relationship?"

"Yaya!" Amu screamed while I had a huge wide-eyed expression of shock plastered on my face. "I told you not to ask that!"

"Whaaaaa…but Yaya is curious!" Yaya said.

"Yaya…" I said darkly. "What in the world made you think that?"

Yaya pouted and said, "Rima-tan dragged Nagi out the room the other day. Plus you two argue like the couples Yaya reads in manga."

"Well, those mangas are wrong," I said. "There is no possible way that he and I are-"

"Good morning, girls," You-Know-Who said, running up to us.

"Oh! Ohayo, Nagi!" Yaya said.

"Hey, Nagi," Amu said.

Nagihiko smiled, then turned to me. Rats. "Um…good morning," I managed to say.

"What's the matter, Rima-chan?" Nagihiko said. "You don't seem to be in your usual pessimistic mood today."

"Shut up!" I said, while glaring at the giggling Yaya. Amu rolled her eyes at the immatureness going on.

"Cat got your tongue, Rima-chan?" Nagihiko said with a smile plastered on his face.

"More like I want a dragon to seize you and put you in a tower far, far away," I spat back at him.

"There's the Rima I know!" Nagihiko said, clapping his hands together in delight. But before I can bite his hands and head off, the bell rang, stopping me from declaring the Rei Apocalypse.

~.~.~

"Okay! Can anyone tell me what this is?" Our Science teacher said, adjusting the glasses slipping down her nose. I squinted at the queer diagram on the board. I was pretty sure we were talking about molecules, but her lecture about abbreviations for most of the periodic table was lost on me. As far as I can remember, H stood for hydrogen. Or was that helium? Augh, forget it. At least I know water is H2O: Helpful to Others, but not me.

I felt a pencil jab my side. On reflex, I grabbed the pencil and glared at the victim, who happened to be Amu. She quickly threw a scrunched-up note on my desk and pretended to pay attention to the class. I then fixated my gaze on the tiny square of folded up paper, gingerly picked it up, and read it. In pink ink, this is what it said:

_r u n nagi going out? –Amu_

I took one look at the ugly note, grabbed a red pen, and wrote:

_NO. And I thought you were the one who didn't want that question to be asked…_

I tossed it back where it came from and tried to pay attention to the lesson. Apparently the diagram was ozone. Why do I need to learn about ozone? Isn't ozone just there to not make me look like a lobster? Seriously, we should learn more about computers. That way I don't have to want to punch one of the school computers every time it takes five to ten minutes just to get the internet up. Speaking of the internet, I haven't checked Rei recently, not since the weekend at least. It's already Thursday too, so if I don't check it I'll be flooded by the weekend. Figuratively speaking of course. Though, it's a little risky considering who might pop up at the wrong moment…

I felt another jab, then saw a note be tossed on the top of my desk. I glared at Amu again, then opened the note:

_guess curiosity killed the cat… I just wanted yaya to not embarrass u. tho y did u drag him out the other day? u SURE u didn't want some one-on-one?_

I stared at the little hearts doodled right after the message. Surging with annoyance, I proceeded to write a long rant to Amu, and was about to throw it back at her. However, somebody in the form of the teacher stopped me. "Mashiro-san," she said. "Is chatting with Hinamori-san more important than this lesson?"

"Um, no, Sensei," I said.

"Then would you like to read that note, since it isn't that important?"

"No, thank you, Sensei."

"Good. Now can you tell me what this is?"

I blinked at the diagram that was drawn on the board: two circles, one with the phrase Na and the other Cl, were connected together. What the heck was that supposed to mean? Nagihiko Clobbered? "Um…" I said cautiously. "Nano…Cleaning?"

The class tittered and the teacher couldn't help but crack a smile too. "No, Mashiro-san. This is sodium chloride, but it also has another name, which is salt. Now…" She stopped torturing me and continued lecturing on about salt. If it was salt, then why the heck is there an N in there? There is no N anywhere in salt, is there? Science confuses me…

The rest of Science went without any crazy incidents happening, and pretty soon it was lunch. My foot, having a mind of its own, was rapidly tapping the floor as I got my bento. I want to check my inbox, but I don't want to. I want to, I don't. Why is this so frustrating? Sighing, I finally came to a conclusion.

"Ready for lunch, Rima?" Amu asked, grabbing her bento and beckoning towards the door where we'll meet up with Nagihiko and Yaya.

"Uh, yeah," I said. "Though I think I want to eat alone today."

Amu looked kind of shocked. "Why?" she asked. "If it's about the note, then I'm really, really sorry Rima. I really am."

I shook my head. "It isn't about that. Guess I need some Rima Time. Is that okay with you?"

Amu bit her lip for a moment, soaking in the question, then said, "Yeah, sure. I don't mind. I'll relay the message to Nagi and Yaya."

"Thanks," I said, then plopped back down at my desk as Amu left to find Yaya to tell her the wonderful news. I opened my bento and took in the wonderful smell of rice, eggs, assorted steamed veggies, and beef. My stomach growled in approval. Of course, now wasn't the time to savor every bite. Now was the time to shove food down my throat and dash to the library to get some minutes on reinet .com, which was exactly what I did. I managed to finish with minimal choking and dashed to library within twenty minutes, which meant I only had 25 minutes or so to sort through mail. Hopefully I don't have much.

I found an empty computer to sit by that was as far away from where people lurk and sat down. After quickly logging in and a slow loading of the internet, I pulled up reinet .com. I did the regular procedures to log in, but not without a quick glance over the shoulder to check for any stares, of course. I sighed and looked at my inbox. A giant of wall of messages stared back. My shoulders slumped as I scanned through them all. I should probably wait on the chats. Though skimming over advice-asking letters and looking over reports seemed like a good idea. Besides, I needed to pick one last letter to use for Ask Rei. And so, I skimmed through a few reports and read a few letters. They were pretty bland and boring. I propped my elbow on the table and rested my chin on my palm. Though before I got comfortable with my current position and clicked on a new message, a certain voice made me jump and pull up a new tab.

"Hello, Rima-chan."

My hand stopped twitching as I turned my chair around and faced the purple-haired annoyance known as Nagihiko. "W-what are you doing here?" I asked.

Nagihiko smiled and tilted his head a bit, causing me to tilt my head so hopefully he won't be able to get a good look at the screen. "Amu-chan told that you were here, so I figured that I'd come down to keep you company."

Shoot. Didn't Amu hear that I wanted to be _alone_? "Can you please not bother me?" I said quickly. My neck hurt from keeping it tilted, but Nagihiko didn't move his head at all. Suddenly, Nagihiko moved his head the other way so fast that I didn't have time to move my own. Before I knew it, he was reading the tab.

"ReiNet?" Nagihiko questioned while I was making very high-pitched sounds out of frustration, which caused some people to look over in curiosity.

"It's none of your business!" I half-shouted.

"Oh really?" he raised his eyebrows. "You're not even supposed to be on here during school hours."

"It was really urgent!" I said, but he didn't listen. Instead, he slowly moved his hand past me and towards the mouse. I gasped and attacked his hand while making loud squeaky noises. I could feel the librarian's glare bore holes through my back.

"It can't be that bad," Nagihiko said. "Besides, I thought you didn't have much of a life?"

"Shut. Up," I said through gritted teeth. I was about to kick him with all my might when I realized he'd shook off my hand and grabbed the mouse. I let out a petrified yell.

"NOOOOOO…!" I said as I grabbed his arm and shook it madly, causing the mouse to have a seizure. The librarian's evil glare was starting to burn…

"What's the matter? It can't be that bad, Rima-chan," Nagihiko said.

"It's called privacy, idiot," I said.

"Seems like Rima-chan's got a secret," Nagihiko said in a singsong voice. Something in my chest jumped. I seriously wanted to punch him, but my hands were too occupied keeping his from clicking the tab. Suddenly, a different voice spoke up from behind us.

"Mashiro-san, Fujisaki-kun…" Both Nagihiko and I looked up. The librarian was staring right down at us. "I hate to break this up, but you are disturbing everybody else in this library. Can you take this debate somewhere else?"

"I understand, ma'am," Nagihiko said, shaking my hands off his and taking it off the mouse. I grabbed the mouse and closed the window.

"Are you listening, Mashiro-san?" the librarian asked. I looked at her and gulped.

"Uh, yeah," I said. The librarian gave me a look. "I mean, I'm sorry. I won't be loud next time." She nodded and left. I gave Nagihiko a glare and stormed out of the library. He followed, like he didn't have anything else to do but bother me. "You know this is all your fault," I said angrily.

"Mine?" he said innocently. "What are talking about? You were the one being loud."

Gosh… "Well, if you hadn't showed up, I wouldn't have gotten kicked out."

"You probably would've, Rima-chan, if she saw that you were on a non-educational site."

"Are you saying I shouldn't have?"

"I'm just saying you should be careful." There was a pause. "You know, lunch is close to ending. How about we carry this conversation on ReiNet?"

That last comment made me snap. I spun around to face him and said, "How about no? Stop trying to act like we're all buddy-buddy. You don't know me at all, so stop pretending you do. Don't you have any guy friends? Go hang out with them instead of trying to get me to like you. You're just an idiot doing that." I squinted my eyes at him and then marched to my next class, not paying any attention to him and his stupid face.

~.~.~

The rest of the day passed with no sight of Nagihiko. It was slightly eerie not seeing him, but I was glad about that. Now it was after school and I just finished my homework. Having already logged on to reinet .com, I started with the good old blog:

_Date: Friday; June 4th, 5:44 PM_

_Mood: Happy_

_Title: I AM FREE!_

_Guess what? NF FINALLY LEFT ME ALONE! HURRAH! For today at least, but let's not rain on my parade. It's just one step to leaving me alone altogether, so let's party it up in the comments! Though please nothing over PG. What if a parent walks in on it?_

_On another note, I'm sad to say this, but kindly remember common sense. If somebody is stalking you or doing mean stuff in the chats, please report. If you're just angry that they didn't give digital cookies, kindly refrain from clicking the report button. I'm a very busy person, so I don't need any unnecessary mail to clog my day. Thank you very much._

Sending the blog, I dove back into my mail. There was so much spam, it felt overwhelming. All the advice letters were boring too, so I couldn't find a good one to reply too. So many almost-fake and lame stories, I wanted to barf. Fortunately, I saw a new message sitting in my inbox. BluePinkFlowers. I immediately confirmed.

_Rei: Hey_

_BluePinkFlowers: Hi_

_BluePinkFlowers: How was your day?_

_Rei: Fine. NF left me alone today_

_BluePinkFlowers: Really?_

_Rei: Really! It felt great not having a creep like him hanging around._

_BluePinkFlowers: I see…_

_Rei: Yep. I feel so happy._

_Rei: Though enough about me, it's time to hear what you have to say_

_BluePinkFlowers: Well…I guess my day wasn't as great as yours._

_Rei: Really? How so?_

_BluePinkFlowers: It's kind of hard to explain…_

_Rei: Oh, come on. If it's really hard just send me an advice letter. I don't have Ask Rei for nothing._

_BluePinkFlowers: OK, though it might take a while._

_Rei: I can wait. Anything for a friend._

_BluePinkFlowers: OK_

There was a pause, so I assumed BluePinkFlowers was writing her letter. I passed the time deleting a lot of stuff in my inbox. Twenty minutes passed, and I heard a familiar _pop!_ sound. I checked my chat.

_BluePinkFlowers: I just sent it. You should get it in a few minutes._

So a few more minutes passed with more idling and constantly checking my inbox when finally, finally, it showed up. Curiosity pounced and I clicked on it.

_Dear Rei,_

_Um, how should I put this? Well, you see, there's this girl. She's kind of pretty and cute at times. Though, there's this problem: she hates me. At first I didn't mind, because some of her comebacks were pretty amusing, but today she got really angry and yelled all sorts of mean things to me. Do you have any idea on how I should get out of this mess?_

_-BluePinkFlowers_

I frowned at the message. This seemed like a frustrating one. I reread it, paused, then read it again. Wait, BluePinkFlowers is a _guy_? A _guy? _Like, those creepy creatures who grow uber fast and have voice issues? Well, it's either that or she's a girl who has different sexual preferences… Uh, I guess I'll say she's a he. Sighing, I looked at the message and finally came up with a good response.

_Dear Blue,_

_Wow, seems like you got it going rough, huh? Never fret, the best thing to do in this kind of situations is to smile, smile, smile. Laughter is contagious, right? Well, so is smiling. Smile and maybe she'll smile back. Oh, and you like her, right? Maybe a bit of flirting will help her see that you're interested in her. Don't give up! I'm cheering for you behind the computer screen!_

_-Rei_

After I typed up the last word, I reread the message just so I don't make any stupid mistakes. Smiling, I clicked send put it with the other letters I wrote at the beginning of the week and sent them all off. BluePinkFlowers will be glad, I'm sure. I returned to the chat to tell him about it.

* * *

**AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'M SORRY FOR MAKING YOU WAIT FOR SO LONG, GUYS. Augh, fortunately (and unfortunately) I got finals this week and next week, so I'll be done with school in about two weeks. Then I'll (hopefully) be updating Ask Rei like a maniac. Anyways, so BluePinkFlowers is a guy, hm? This'll be very interesting, right? I have a feeling that Rima will regret sending that message, don't you?**

**Hope you liked the chapter and can't wait to see the next! Please give me your feedback! Reviews!**


	9. Karma Sucks Big Time

**Chapter 9: Karma Sucks Big Time**

* * *

Weekends, oh weekends, how I love you… Too bad Boring English Teacher assigned us homework. "Make sure to do these worksheets over the weekend," he said. "I'll be waiting for them on Monday." Mondays… Augh… Luckily, it's Saturday, so I can kick back and relax for now. Thank goodness I only have a few more days or so until summer vacation…

Deciding I should check up on the account Amu and Yaya forced me to have, I logged on. Sure enough, Amu and Yaya were waiting for me. Knowing what I'm heading into, I clicked yes.

**ComedyQueen123 has joined your conversation!**

_PepeBaby66: rima-tan! :D_

_ComedyQueen123: B|_

_PepeBaby66: ;_;_

_ComedyQueen123: o_e_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: ^_^;;_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Hey rima_

_ComedyQueen123: Hi_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Can't wait for today's outing, rima?_

Outing? Oh, wait, we have another one planned because Amu freaked about not having anything to wear for the school trip this week. As if she didn't have enough in her closet already…

_ComedyQueen123: Uh, yeah, I guess. Just need to change out of my ratty outfit into a better one_

_PepeBaby66: lol, rima_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Can't wait!_

_ComedyQueen123: Great, now I seriously have to stop and change outfits_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Ok. yaya and i will be waiting!_

Logging off, I looked at the outfit I was wearing today: a baggy T-shirt and white shorts. Unless I wanted to stick out from Amu and Yaya, I should probably change clothes. So I did, keeping my shorts but taking off the shirt and putting on a red top with a darker red emblem of a flower. To top things off, I dug through my closet and found the red hat I bought last outing. Tugging it onto my thick head of blondness, I was ready to go.

"Mom! Dad!" I said, walking downstairs. "Is okay that I'm gonna go out to the shopping area with Amu and Yaya today? I promise I won't get lost or wander away!" There was a moment of silence, then I heard Dad say OK, so I said goodbye and ran out. Gaping hole? Check. Drumstick trees? Check. Scary dog? Still on its chain, thankfully. Passing by the playground, I knew I was on my way to the shopping area.

When I got there, I found my friends. Yep, there was Yaya in a yellow tank and shorts with a pink and yellow visor squeezed over her pigtails, and there's Amu in a gray T-shirt with white music notes on it and black skirt with leggings. Oh, and there was Nagihiko in an indigo polo and white shorts. Wait, what?

"What the heck are you doing here?" I said, glaring at him.

Nagihiko flashed a ridiculous smile and said, "Amu-chan and Yaya-chan invited me, Rima-chan."

I glared at Amu and Yaya. Amu answered, "After you logged off, Rima, he logged on and when he heard we were going shopping, he wanted to go."

A guy going on an _ALL-GIRLS_ outing? Sounds suspicious… I looked at Nagihiko. "Why would you want to go with us? This is all girls. Like, clothes and shopping and clothes and shoes and _clothes_."

Nagihiko laughed and smiled again. "You're so funny, Rima-chan." _Funny_… If somebody else called me funny, then I'd be glad, but Nagihiko calling me that is just asking for a certain death.

"Funny, my foot," I spat back at him, which just made him laugh again. What is with this guy?

"Uh, okay!" Amu said. "I guess we can split up, since the last time Yaya and I dragged Rima somewhere she wasn't happy about it."

"Sounds like a good idea, Amu-chan," Nagihiko said.

"Yaya likes that idea!" Yaya said.

"How about you, Rima?" Amu looked at me.

"Um, yeah, sure," I said.

"Okay!" Amu said. "Yaya and I will go one way while Rima and Nagi go the other!"

"Wait, wha-" I was going to complain, but Amu already took off with Yaya in tow, leaving me with the Smile Monster.

"We'll meet back in about an hour for a quick snack, m'kay?" I heard Amu yell. I sighed and turned to face my worst enemy.

"So…" Nagihiko said, still smiling. "What should we do now?"

"Kill you," I said bluntly.

Nagihiko laughed, looked at me with another silly smile, and turned away. Awkward silence goes here. I shifted my feet. If somebody who didn't know any better passed by, they could've mistaken Nagihiko and I as a couple on their first date. Oh gosh, that's sick. Why did I even think about that? Gag, barf, gag…

"Um…" Nagihiko said, breaking the silence. "I think window shopping wouldn't hurt, no?"

"Yeah, sure," I said coldly. And so we went down one end of the shopping area, just browsing at whatever is on a random mannequin at some random store. And when I mean we, I mean Nagihiko was browsing while I was sulking along. Best shopping trip ever. Please note the sarcasm.

We were just walking at a good pace with me behind Nagihiko, not paying attention to what's in front of me, when all of a sudden Nagihiko stopped. My head crashed into his back and he stumbled a few steps. "What the heck was that for?" I asked him. Absentmindedly, he pointed to the shop window in front of him.

"Isn't that the top of a yukata?" he asked. Confused, I followed his finger to lay my eyes on a what sort-of looked like a yukata. Yeah, there was an obi, the long sleeves, and the y-shaped neck line, but instead of the bottom half being a semi-tight thing that's hard to walk in, here was a skirt that slightly poofed out with a lacy petticoat peeking out from under. It was a light indigo with yellow flowers plastered over it with the obi being white and yellow. Looked nice, I guess.

"I think it's sort of lolita-ish," I said to Nagihiko.

Nagihiko pondered about it, then said, "Let's go inside." He grabbed my hand and led me in.

_D-Ding!_ Tiny bells chimed as we entered. My eyes saw mostly lolita outfits, but there were some yukatas lying around. A young salesclerk ran up to us. "Welcome!" she said to us. "How can I help you two?"

"We're just browsing," Nagihiko said. "Thank you anyways," The salesclerk then left us with a giggle. Why a giggle? Then I suddenly was conscious of Nagihiko's hand pressing into mine. I quickly shook his hand off.

"Okay," I said, putting my hands on my hips. "Why the heck are we here?"

Nagihiko, however, ignored my important question and marched himself over to a rack filled with dresses and two piece outfits. I watched him shift through some of them until he pulled out one that was identical to the one at the window except it was white with a plain red obi, trim, and flowers. "I think this would look nice on you, Rima-chan, don't you think?" he said with a gigantic smile.

"M-Me?" I said, slightly alarmed. I, Mashiro Rima, in a poofy skirt? No. Way. Never, ever, ever, _ever_. "I-I don't think so."

"Oh, come on, Rima-chan," Nagihiko said as he shoved it into me. "Please, just try it on. You don't have to buy it."

I groaned. "Augh, fine." I took it from him and went into the dressing room with Nagihiko on my heels. Fortunately he was smart enough not to walk in with me. I sighed and for the second time today pulled off my original outfit and put on a new one. The petticoat and top were easy, but it was the obi that drove me nuts. Usually it's Mom or Dad who always helped me tie kimonos and yukatas for festivals, so I was kind of in a dilemma. Darn it… Twisting the obi this way and that, I still couldn't it into the perfect bow I wanted it to be. Always it turned out to be a lump with either tiny or enormous loops.

I heard a knock. "Rima-chan? Are you okay?" Nagihiko's annoying voice called out to me.

"I'm fine," I said.

"Really?" Nagihiko answered back. "It sounds like you need some help."

"H-How, I mean, why do you think that?"

"You were saying things like 'darn it' and 'stupid thing,' not to mention muttering things about bows." That sneaky little eavesdropper… "If you want, I can help."

I was slightly alarmed, but more agitated. "No way!" I said. "I can do it myself!" With that, I tied a sloppy bow and unlocked it. Nagihiko tilted his head at the lovely sight I made and his lips curled into another smile.

"You look great, Rima-chan. Really cute," he said, then frowned at something. "But…" He then got up and started walking towards me. I took a step backwards.

"What the heck are you trying to do?" I said.

"I just need to fix your bow. The loops are too small," he simply said.

"No way are you gonna be doing that," I said, and ran back into the changing stall with a _click!_ From there, I changed back into my outfit I was wearing before. I stormed out of the changing room.

"Do you need anything else?" The annoying salesclerk said with a smile.

"No, we don't," I said as I exited with Nagihiko on my heels again. I angrily walked all the way back to the meeting place like that.

"Eh? Are you okay, Rima?" Amu said when she saw my stormy expression, now with a couple of shopping bags in tow and Yaya chewing on a taiyaki.

"I'm fine, Amu. Now let's go make Yaya a little fatter before I'm not fine."

~.~.~

After that chaotic outing, I was back home. Now it was after dinner and I finally started working on the English homework. Taking a break, I logged in as Rei and immediately started to vent off of my blog.

_Date: Saturday; June 5th, 7:02 PM_

_Mood: Peeved_

_Title: I Think I Just Got Bit By Karma…_

_Remember how I was so happy that NF left me alone? Yeah, turns out it didn't last as long as I thought. Yep, he's back and annoying as ever. Gosh, I have to wipe that annoying smile away for my brain before I got to sleep tonight. If I don't it'll be stuck in my head for eternity and some day I'll hang myself because of that image. And we don't want a suicidal attempt to happen, now do we?_

_In other news, it seems like summer vacation is close. Hurrah! Hopefully none of my teachers give me loads of homework. I need time to clean out all the wonderful mail you guys give me! On the other hand, I have a class trip in a few days too, one that'll won't let me post/update until the day after. So please hold off the chat requests until Friday evening. Thanks in advance! And pray that I make it through my class trip!_

I sent my blog off to the world known as the Internet and turned to my inbox. Thankfully, I don't have to worry about more advice letters until tomorrow, but there are chats and reports to think about. I looked at the top, and what luck it was BluePinkFlowers. Despite him being a guy, I still liked talking to him. And so I did.

_Rei: What's up?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Oh, you scared me there for a second_

_Rei: Really? I'm sorry_

_BluePinkFlowers: It's fine_

_Rei: Great ^_^_

_Rei: So, how are you doing with that girl?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Not well_

_Rei: What do you mean?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Well, I tried but she only seemed to get angrier_

_Rei: Really? Is it your flirting?_

_BluePinkFlowers: I don't know. I mean, I tried flirting the way the Internet told me_

_Rei: …_

_BluePinkFlowers: Are you OK, Rei?_

_Rei: You do know the Internet can be pretty vague sometimes_

_BluePinkFlowers: Really?_

_Rei: Yeah._

_Rei: Okay, try complimenting her and smiling. That's a good start, no?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Well, that does seem like a good idea_

_Rei: Glad that may help you_

_BluePinkFlowers: And how are you doing with your NF problem_

_Rei: He's back_

_BluePinkFlowers: I see…_

_Rei: Gosh, he even had the nerve of interrupt hanging out with A-chan and Y-chan_

_BluePinkFlowers: Oh dear…_

_Rei: Oh dear is right_

_BluePinkFlowers: Just keep on being positive if he's really bothering you_

_Rei: I'll try_

_BluePinkFlowers: That's the spirit! Go Rei!_

_Rei: And go you! I'm still cheering for you!_

_Rei: Oh, darn. I think I can hear my mom telling me to go wash._

_BluePinkFlowers: Well, this seems like a good time to stop talking. I have to go too_

_Rei: Well, see you later!_

_BluePinkFlowers: Bye!_

"Rima!" I heard Mom call from across the hall. "Go shower!

"I am, Mom!" I called back as I logged off. I pulled off my hat as I got my pajamas. Remembering the outing, I shuddered. I gotta get that annoying smile out of my head before I go to sleep…

* * *

**W-wow… I think this is one of my speedier updates to date. I blame summer vacation… Speaking of summer vacation, I'm gonna be taking a break from writing Ask Rei for a few days. Why? My beta reader (aka: my lovely Onee-chan) is celebrating her birthday and we're going to Magic Kingdom for that. So, yeah. Don't expect another chapter by next week. ...Oh gosh, I just realized how coincidental that is to this chapter. Rima is gonna be gone to her class trip and won't be on ReiNet while I won't be updating for a while because I'm going to Disney. Oh coincidences...**

**Anyways, my psychic prediction was correct! Rima did have a horrible day! But don't worry, Rima-chan, thing'll really heat up further into the week! What's going to happen, you ask? Just wait and see for the next chapter! And while you're waiting, please tell me what you think about this chapter! **


	10. The Field Trip of Doom

**Chapter 10: The Field Trip of Doom**

* * *

"Alright, listen up!" Boring English Teacher's voice boomed over the large group of 8th graders, myself included. Today was the big day, meaning the grand-old camping trip of doom that was the 8th grade field trip. We, meaning every 8th grader, were all milling around the front yard while the teachers were trying to get organized. This job of course called for Boring English Teacher's booming monotone voice. "Get into your classes, please! Class B! Over here!"

"Class A, too!" I heard Sensei pitch in.

"Come on, Rima!" Amu said, pulling at my elbow. She started to run with me following behind. "Hurry up, Rima!"

"I'm hurrying, Amu!" I snapped back at her. "It's not my fault my petite legs can't run!"

"Jeez, you don't have to be so angry, Rima," Amu said, skidding to a stop at the back of the group just as Boring English Teacher motioned for everyone to climb aboard the bus with Class A. Due to Amu's habit of screaming at every pothole, I had to be with her at the front of the bus. Not that I minded, of course, the noisier kids usually took up the back and it will be really annoying sitting back there. Just as I predicted, the kids in the basketball team, other random sports clubs members, and their friends immediately filled up the back. I saw Sensei march over near them just as the bus pulled out of Seiyo and towards the great outdoors. Smiling at the poor souls who will face her wrath soon, a certain voice perked up from behind me in my aisle seat.

"Morning, Rima-chan. You look happy today."

I shot my head upwards, only to come face to face with Nagihiko. He smiled down at me. I growled back at him. "Oh, don't ruin that pretty face of yours with that scowl, Rima-chan," he said happily, aggravating me even more. Pretty? Coming from him, that deserves vomit. Lots and lots of vomit.

"Why are you up here?" I asked. "Shouldn't you be with, you know, _your friends_?"

"But I am with my friends," he said happily. I growled some more. I am not on his happy friend boat, for sure, so why does he have to say I am? "Isn't that right, Amu-chan?"

Amu, who was busy staring out the window in a bored daze, blinked and turned around. "Huh?" she said. "What? Oh, um, yeah, yeah, sure." Nagihiko plastered on another stupid smile.

"But don't you have friends on the basketball team?" I asked.

"I do," Nagihiko said, "but I just want to spend time with my dear friends Rima-chan and Amu-chan." Dear friend, my foot.

"That still doesn't mean you can sit with me," I said.

"Rima," Amu, who was finally paying attention to the conversation, said angrily. "Why do you have to argue with Nagi everywhere we go? It's a field trip, for crying out loud. Nagi, Rima didn't mean that, honestly. You can sit across from us if you want."

I grumbled and complained silently as Nagihiko sat across from me and leaned against his chair. "It's so much fun hanging out with Rima-chan," Nagihiko mused randomly. Hanging out? You mean, throwing insults and threats left and right are hanging out? Good gosh, what has this world come to? "Rima-chan also has such nice eyes. They're just like honey." Um… What the heck? "Honey is sweet, you know?" No duh, Sherlock. "That must mean you must be sweet, too, Rima-chan." What the…?

Amu giggled as I said, "Okay, what the heck are you trying to pull?"

"I'm just saying the truth," Nagihiko said. I groaned and turned away from him for the rest of the ride up there.

~.~.~

"All right," Boring English Teacher boomed. We arrived at the campground, which was a pretty large property with lots and lots of trees. There was a giant building that was too big for just us 8th graders. "First, we'll all drop our stuff off at the dorms. Then, we'll meet back here to divvy up into our groups for the day. Do you hear me?" A dull sound was heard from the crowd of 8th graders, which Boring English Teacher took as a yes. "Boys will be on the left wing while the girls will be on the right. And _nobody should go into the opposite gender's quarters_. Got that?" A groan came from a few boys and girls, but that was all. I rolled my eyes, though I was glad that Nagihiko can't go anywhere near me during the night. "Now go," Boring English Teacher commanded, and we all spread out to grab our bags and head to our designated rooms.

"Come on, Rima!" Amu beckoned me to follow, which I did. "I think Sensei told us that we'll be in the same room."

"That's great!" I gushed. I followed Amu up a flight of stairs and down a hallway, which sure did tire me out. Finally, we stopped at a door that Amu opened. The first I saw were futons, lots and lots of futons. Sure, the room wasn't that big, but did the teachers really expect about a dozen girls to keep quiet in the night? I groaned, dropped my suitcase, and dug through it to put something on a futon to claim it, which was Kusukusu. Amu raised her eyebrows briefly at the green bear, but then dug out 4 different kinds of stuffed animals: a red bear, a blue cat, a green dog, and a yellow bunny. I gave her a quick look, then returned to unpacking.

After we finished and all the other girls in there finished, we all grouped up and headed downstairs in one pack, surprising a few guys. When we came down, Boring English Teacher told us where to go. "Mashiro-san, Hinamori-san, you're in the same group," he said, bringing a smile onto Amu's face. "The other girls from Class A already came down, so…" He quickly raised his loud monotone voice to call them over. A brunette in a ponytail, a strawberry blond, and a girl with short, light purple hair jogged on over. "Girls, this is Mashiro-san and Hinamori-san. They'll be in your group for the day."

"Yo!" The ponytailed brunette said. "Name's Ito Izumi, but call me Izumi! Nice to meet you!"

"Uh, call me Rima," I said to Izumi. Amu quickly introduced herself and also told Izumi to call her by her first name and her first name only.

"Nice to meet you, Mashiro-chan," the blond said. "I'm Akane and the little one beside me is Yuki-chan."

I looked at Yuki, who didn't look that short compared to me, and she said, "It's nice to meet you, Rima-chan."

"Uh, hi," I said. Boring English Teacher left, which made Izumi exhale in relief.

"Glad he's gone," she said. "I can't stand having to be all proper grammar and stuff. It's him and Japanese-sensei who are so crazy about grammar. Jeez, it's called slang. Learn it, live it, love it." I couldn't help but laugh at that. "So, Rima, right? What should we do now?"

However, instead of me answering Izumi's question, Akane answered, "Uh, I think Sensei told us to wait until everybody else is all set, then he'll tell us all where to go."

"Uh, right. I knew that," Izumi said, making Amu giggle. I could tell these guys will be good to hang out with. Izumi turned to me. "So, I heard you and Amu are friends with Fujisaki, right?"

"Um, I don't think we're exactly friends," I replied. "What gave you that notion?"

Izumi grinned. "Fujisaki keeps on talking about you." Well, that's not awkward at all…

"Oh! So you're friends with Nagi, right?" Amu said.

Akane said, "Not exactly. Fujisaki-kun's on the basketball team, and Izumi-chan here has a brother on there, so we're acquaintances."

"You forgot something, Akane-chan," Yuki quickly said.

"Wait, I did?" Akane said, confused.

"You forgot that your boyfriend's also on the team."

"Eh?" Amu said. "Y-you have a b-boyfriend…?"

"Of course she does," Yuki said. "I mean, look at her." Amu and I did, and I do have to admit Akane was kind of pretty, but dating in 8th grade…

"All right, all right," Boring English Teacher suddenly boomed. "I believe we've been all put into groups, so it's time for the activities."

"Finally…" Izumi hissed.

"There will be archery, hiking, and dodgeball, so everybody will be divided into three big groups, all of which have the groups you're in for the day." He then started to rattle about which group was where. Thankfully, Nagihiko's group wasn't with mine, but I was going to archery first. Hopefully I don't kill anybody. Don't want to be sued…

~.~.~

"All right! Free time!" Izumi cried. It was after lunch and the activities and I was dead tired after brutal hours of archery, getting hit by a rubber ball, and walking up a monstrous hill. So tired, in fact, that I needed a nap. A long, long nap. So I was going to sneak up to the stairs and do just that, when Yuki spotted me.

"Where are you going, Rima-chan?" she questioned.

"Um, I'm tired," I quickly said, trying to make my escape.

"Not so fast," Yuki said. "We're gonna go meet with Izumi-chan's brother and his friends."

"Yeah, you can go on without me," I said.

"No can do," she said. "We're a group, and a group sticks together."

"Come on, Rima," Amu pleaded. "It'll be fun!" So says the girl who can't stay in the same room with most guys… I sighed, "Fine." And we left the building and with that my wonderful futon.

"Now, here's a warning for you all about my brother," Izumi said as my legs continued to move. "He's way more obnoxious than me and he is pretty stupid."

"Really?" Amu said.

"Mm-hm," Izumi nodded. "Pretty darn stupid. Oh, and speak of the devil, here he is. Oi! Ritsu!"

A boy, who I'll safely assume is Ritsu, came running up. He looked almost exactly the same as Izumi, though maybe a bit taller. "Yo, Izumi," he said, his voice cracking a little. "Who's the new girls?"

"Oh, that's just my new friends Rima," Izumi said, pointing to me, then Amu, "and Amu. And no, Ritsu, I doubt they're interested in you, loser."

"Hey, I wasn't thinking about that!" Ritsu said.

"Ah, I'm just messing with you," Izumi laughed, pulling Ritsu into a noogie.

"Wow," Amu said.

"That's the Ito twins for you," Yuki simply said, then called out to Ritsu, "Hey! Where're your buddies? Aren't you supposed to stay in a group?"

"Oh, right," Ritsu said. "I think Jiro and Fuyuki are by the hoops. Come on!" He motioned us to run, and I just about died running to keep up with them. Thankfully, we stopped at the basketball courts, and sure enough, there were two brunettes shooting orange spheres at a ridiculously tall hoop. One of the brunettes had slightly neater hair than the other, while the other looked like he just climbed out of bed. "Oi! Jiro! Fuyuki!" The bouncing basketballs stopped bouncing and the two jogged on over.

"What's up, Ritsu?" The ruffled-haired one asked.

"I brought you and Fuyuki some lady spectators," Ritsu grinned, earning a smack on the head from Izumi.

Jiro, on the other hand, ignored that comment and scanned over us, then making eye contact with Akane. "Oh, um, hi Akane," he said, blushing a little.

"Hello, Jiro-kun," she said happily, making Jiro turn a shade redder.

"Jiro-kun is Akane-chan's boyfriend," Yuki said to me. I nodded, looking Jiro over. Those two seemed like an odd couple, but I won't make any comment just yet.

"Where's Fujisaki?" Izumi asked. "Isn't he part of your group, too." Oh, shoot. If Nagihiko just randomly pops up right now and makes some comment about me again, I'm gonna murder him.

"Oh, Nagihiko had to take that kid from Class A, Nakamura, that's right, right, Fuyuki?" Ritsu said, turning to the boy with the neater hair, who nodded. "Anyways, Nakamura fainted in the middle of our hike, so Nagihiko had to go take him to the nurse's station." Thank goodness for Wimpy Nakamura. Now I can stall Nagihiko for just a bit.

"Well, anyways, who's up for some basketball?" Izumi shouted. There was a cheer from the boys, and Izumi grinned. Akane politely passed while Yuki complained that she'll get trampled by the boys. So, in the end, Izumi and the boys decided to have a match. Fuyuki and Jiro on one side, and Ritsu and Izumi on the other. They all seemed pretty good…well, better than me. I'm more likely to get hit by a basketball than to get a goal-thingy or whatever they call getting a point in basketball. My bored mood turned to annoyed, of course, when an all too familiar voice cried, "I'm back! Nakamura-kun's all right, but he can't go out for free time! Oh? Look who we have here!"

I turned around, and sure enough, Nagihiko was standing right behind me. I glared, but he only smiled. "You look so cute when you do that, Rima-chan," he said. Gosh, he should die in a fiery pit of fire…oh, and he should get that annoying hair shaved. Yeah, I'd like to see him with a buzz-cut.

Anyways, Amu took notice of my not-so-favorite purple-haired creep, and she said, "Oh, hey, Nagi!" Yuki and Akane turned around, too, and also greeted him.

"The boys and Izumi-chan have already started a game, Fujisaki-kun," Akane said. "You can join them, if you want."

"I think I'd rather not," Nagihiko answered. "It appears they're evenly matched and I don't want to throw them off by putting an extra player on one side." I'm not even sure it that's supposed to be conceited or not. But soon enough, he took a seat by, guess who, me. Yep, my life just got a little worse. "How are you doing, Rima-chan?"

"Not good since you got here," I said, sliding closer to Amu, but Nagihiko persisted.

"Oh, come on, I'm not that bad, Rima-chan. Wipe that scowl from your face and give me that adorable smile." I swear, if he's gonna give me another compliment, I'm gonna slaughter him… I groaned, ignored Nagihiko, and tried to concentrate on the game. Looks like this free time is gonna be the worst time ever in my life…

~.~.~

Free time and dinner quickly passed, and the teachers announced that we're all supposed to go down immediately to somewhere a distance away from the building for a grade campfire. Izumi and Amu seemed pretty excited. They were chatting it up like they knew each other for a long time. I, on the other hand, wasn't as cheerful as those two, since the campfire meant Nagihiko may or may not sit next to me. Ugh…

"Eh? Is something the matter, Mashiro-chan?" Akane asked. "You look pretty grumpy."

"Think about this, Rima-chan," Yuki offered. "This is our first and last night up here, so you have to smile and make this night last." Akane nodded. I didn't reply as we all strolled through the dark woods to the fire. When we reached the campfire there wasn't a lot of space left, but Izumi saw that her brother and his friends saved a spot for us. We ran and greeted them. After much teasing, prodding, and pleading on Izumi, Ritsu, and Yuki's part, they managed to make Jiro and Akane sit next to each other in true boyfriend-girlfriend fashion. Jiro looked like he wanted to die and Akane blushed, too. With that, Izumi and Ritsu sat down on either side of the odd couple, with Izumi next to Akane and Ritsu next to Jiro. Fuyuki joined the guys and Yuki squeezed herself next to Izumi. Amu and I were about to sit down on the bench, too, when we noticed that there wasn't any space left for us.

"You guys can sit in front of us," Izumi said. "We're tall enough to see, anyways." So with that, Amu and I took a not-so-comfy seat on the dirt. Though, something seems a little off…

"Hey, where's Nagi?" Amu wondered, answering my thoughts. Oh, good, the creep isn't here. That means-

"Ah, sorry I'm late!" I spoke too soon. Nagihiko ran up to us, then stopped when he saw there was no room on the bench. Shoot, hopefully he'd be a good friend to Amu and sit next to her and not me. "Ah, it seems like you guys left me out, Ito-kun."

"Sorry," Ritsu laughed. "There's always the dirt."

Amu scooted over and said, "Here, you can take a seat between me and Rima."

I cut in, "But what about Izumi? Nagihiko's probably too tall and she won't be able to see."

"Ah, it's fine," Izumi said. "He'll be sitting, so that'll be fine." Drats, my plan failed. And so, Nagihiko took a seat beside yours truly, with nobody on her right to talk to. Everybody hates me.

There was a slight awkward silence between Nagihiko and me except for the chattering coming from everybody else. Finally, Nagihiko broke it by saying, "Nice night for a campfire, isn't it, Rima-chan?" I shot him a mean look. "Eh? Personally, I like it. It's seems like a pretty romantic night, right?" Romantic? What, is he throwing fancy talk at me now? I wanted to scream, shout, anything to make him shut up, but I couldn't. Not with a huge crowd like now.

"Ahem," Sensei cleared her throat, trying to silence everybody. There still was a buzz of talking. "Ahem-hem-hem…" Still talking… She sighed, then whispered something to Boring English Teacher, who shouted.

"Attention!"

Every mouth was shut and every head was turned toward the teachers. Sensei smiled, then said, "Okay, since this is a campfire, it seems like a perfect time for a sing-along!" That exclamation were met with groans and boos. She sighed, signaled towards the Science teacher to start playing a guitar she brought, then started to singing a lame campfire song. She continued on until the chorus, which was when a small group of people started to nervously join in. A few more, then pretty soon everybody joined in. Sensei smiled, and the song sped up. Pretty soon, almost every student were acting like idiots, singing, waving their arms around, and swinging to the beat. I would've been happy at that moment, but the presence of a certain purple-haired person kept my spirits fairly low.

Sensei switched songs and my fellow classmates sang to their hearts delight. I managed to smile a little, ignored Nagihiko again, and just leaned against Yuki's legs with the hopes that she won't mind. And the rest of campfire past with gleeful songs, shouts, and peace for me.

* * *

**I'M BACK! Disney was fun, but I'm glad I'm back writing Ask Rei. Thank you for having Ask Rei reach 100 reviews! I'm happy that there are so many faithful reviewers here! But Ask Rei hasn't ended! We're about halfway there, so grab on to something, 'cause everything will (hopefully ^_^;) be exciting in the next few chapters!**

**Speaking of the next chapter, I got a nice something-something planned ahead. What's that, you ask? Just to give you more fun imagining what's going to happen next, I'll tell you one thing and one thing only: Next chapter will be written from Nagihiko's point of view. Yep, our favorite long hair, overly-perfect enemy of Rima's will have some time to shine!**

**Hope you didn't mind the OCs I threw in. They're gonna play some part in the story (at least, one certain character will…). So while I cook up the exciting next chapter, please review!**


	11. Nagihiko Doesn't Like Dares

**Chapter 11: Nagihiko Doesn't Like Dares**

* * *

"Oi, Nagihiko."

"Yes, Ito-kun?" I said. It was after the school campfire, and everybody but Ito-kun, Sato-kun, Kirishima-kun, and me had left to go to bed. I had settled myself down next to Sato-kun when Ito-kun called me from across the bench.

"Do you like Mashiro?"

Something in my chest jumped. "Um, what?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh, come on," Ito-kun laughed. "It's quite a bit too obvious what with you smiling around her. Oh, and you do know you're horrible at flirting, right?"

"As if you know any better, Ritsu," Sato-kun said sarcastically. Kirishima-kun pitched in a nervous laugh.

"Oh, so you know better, Jiro," Ito-kun said. "So how far are you in your relationship with A-ka-ne."

That made Sato-kun blush. "Akane-chan has nothing to do with this!" he said.

"Uh, Jiro, can you please be quiet?" Kirishima-kun said. "Sensei will kill us if she finds out that we're not in our dorms right now."

Ito-kun rolled his eyes. "Quit being a coward, Fuyuki," he said, which made Kirishima-kun frown, then he turned to me. "You ready for a dare, Nagihiko?"

"Uh, I'm not sure if I want to…" I laughed nervously, but Ito-kun continued.

"Oh, I know you want to," Ito-kun cackled, making Kirishima-kun glance towards the trees nervously for any teachers. "I dare you to…kiss Mashiro." Without any warning, I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Isn't that a bit…overboard, Ritsu?" Sato-kun asked Ito-kun.

"Nope," he said. "I think Nagihiko's perfectly capable doing this. Right, Fuyuki?" Kirishima-kun blinked, looked at Ito-kun, then hastily agreed. "See? What can I say?"

Sato-kun glared at Kirishima-kun. "See, this is why Sensei says you're a yes-man," he said. Kirishima-kun laughed nervously, but his cheeks faintly turned pink. Sato-kun, then turned to me. "You really don't have to, Nagihiko. Just ignore Ritsu. He's being an idiot right now."

"Oh, don't listen to him," Ito-kun said, pulling Sato-kun into a headlock. "_He's_ being the idiot. Isn't that right, Mr. I-have-a-girlfriend-but-I'm-too-afraid-to-actually-sit-next-to-her?"

"Shut up!" Sato-kun complained through Ito-kun's headlock.

"So what are you gonna do?" Ito-kun said. "Are you, or are you _chicken_?" With that, he started clucking like one while his free elbow flapped like a chicken wing.

Sato-kun pulled himself away from Ito-kun's grip and said to me, "Nagihiko, he really is being idiotic. You really don't have to."

I bit my lip. Just thinking about kissing Rima-chan made me feel uneasy. Maybe, I could refuse… Then I looked at Ito-kun, who was still doing his impersonation of a chicken. I tried Kirishima-kun for help, but he just shrugged. This is really confusing…

"Come on, Nagihiko," Ito-kun said, pausing at his chicken impersonation, "you don't want to be a cowardly chicken like Jiro, right? I know you want to kiss her! Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Why am I the bad example?" Sato-kun complained. "For the last time, stop-"

I sighed, "Fine, I'll do it." This made Ito-kun break into a grin.

"Great!" he said. "You got until when we leave! Got that?"

But before I could reply, a rustle was heard from the trees, then there was a booming voice. "Hey! It's past curfew!"

"Oh, shoot," Sato-kun said, summarizing what was probably going through all our minds. As we made a run for it, I felt my chest tighten in anticipation for tomorrow. Oh, I hope Rima-chan doesn't kill me…

~.~.~

"Good morning, Rima-chan," I said to the blond as I plopped my breakfast down next to hers. "Did you sleep well?"

"Why do you want to know?" she replied angrily. I caught Ito-kun's eye, who was at another table with his sister and her friends and Sato-kun and Kirishima-kun. Ito-kun mouthed something and gave a thumbs-up. I think he mouthed "go for it!" but I doubt I can in a crowded room. It has to be private, in my opinion, just so Rima-chan and I don't have to go through the rumors our classmates might make. I turned to Rima-chan's glare, and I laughed.

"Ah! Nagi!" I looked up and saw Amu-chan plop herself down across from Rima-chan. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Amu-chan," I said.

"Morning, Amu," Rima-chan said in a bored tone while picking at her scrambled eggs.

"Eh? What's the matter, Rima?" Amu-chan asked, confused at Rima-chan's angry mood. Rima-chan just simply jabbed a fork in my direction. "Eh? What did Nagi do?"

"Exist," Rima-chan said plainly.

"Ah, that's not nice, Rima-chan," I said, putting in a laugh for good measure.

"Why are you laughing?" Rima asked.

"It's just because you're funny," I said, which was true. Rima-chan was always funny, whether she was trying or not. Rima-chan just furrowed her eyebrows at that comment and then squinted her eyes into another glare. I countered it with a smile. All of a sudden, Rima stood up and took her plate that only had a few scraps of scrambled eggs and bacon left on it.

"I'm gonna go get some more," she said calmly, but I could tell she was aggravated. She's a pretty good actor, but I can tell when she's acting. I watched as she made her way back to the buffet line at the front of the room, but then Ito-kun's sister, Izumi-chan, called her over. I watched as she stopped and went over to them.

"Hey, Nagi." I blinked, then turned to Amu-chan.

"Yes, Amu-chan?" I asked.

"Are you all right?" Amu-chan said, confusing me. "I mean, I've never seen you be this weird. Er, like…throwing compliments left and right? You've never done that in elementary." She frowned. "Seriously, what's up?"

Amu-chan's query shocked me a bit. I've never really she of all people would notice. I felt embarrassed as I racked my brains for something, then I smiled at Amu-chan in a sincere way and said, "It's nothing, Amu-chan." Amu-chan furrowed her eyebrows, then went back to eating as if nothing happened. I saw Rima-chan make her way back to the table just as the English teacher stood up.

"Will everybody please pay attention?" he asked loudly. The whole dining room quickly hushed in a whispery silence. Sensei cleared his throat. "Let me just give you a clear idea on what today's plan is," he said. "We'll be leaving the campground this afternoon," this was met with groans and a few shouts, but Sensei continued, "so the rest of the morning will be devoted to free time." The groans then morphed into shouts of joy. A muscle twitched on Sensei, as if he was about to smile. "After lunch, we'll then pack up and head down to the buses to be back at school by the time most of you will be due for clubs." With that, he sat down.

"Wow! Free time again! Isn't that great?" Amu-chan said to Rima-chan, who had taken the empty seat next to her instead of her original seat next to me.

"Yeah," Rima-chan said, "though I think I'd have to ask Izumi if we don't go with the guys. I had enough basketball for all of summer vacation." Amu-chan laughed at that, and I did, too. Rima-chan gave me a glare. She motioned for Amu-chan to finish up and get up, which is what she did, and the two left to dump their stuff and left me all alone.

I silently poked at my almost finished food until I heard Ito-kun's voice next to me. "Yo, my friend," I looked up, and he was there with Kirishima-kun and Sato-kun. Ito-kun sat down next to me. "What's up, dude?" he asked. "I saw like a million times in which you could've made your move, so why didn't you?"

Instead of me answering, Sato-kun said, "It's because he's not like you. He doesn't take things on impulse. He actually thinks, while you don't." Kirishimia-kun nervously laughed, but Ito-kun ignored it.

"So what?" he said. "Nagihiko, you better pull yourself together and just get it over with."

"I-I'll try," I said. "Um, so what are we going to do today for free time?"

Ito-kun tapped his index finger against his cheek, as if he was thoughtfully thinking about it. "Let me see," he said. "Well, since your friends insisted on no basketball, we can't hang out with Izumi for the rest of the day or else she'll kill me. Hey, I know! We can have another basketball game! This time, it's Jiro and I versus Fuyuki and Nagihiko!"

"Dude, let's not," Sato-kun said. "I like basketball and all, but I don't really want to do other things."

"Er, how about we hang out with other guys and do whatever they're doing," Kirishima-kun offered.

"That seems like a good idea," Sato-kun said. "What do you think, Nagihiko?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not?" I looked at Ito-kun, who looked annoyed and a little agitated. Then I heard him grumble okay.

Sato-kun laughed at his friend. "Come on, I'll find some other guys on the team. Maybe some of them don't have basketball heads and actually have other things." So we followed Sato-kun for a change to find people to chat with. Though, in the back of my mind, something told me to find Rima-chan. I shook it off as soon as it entered my mind, and quickly started a conversation with Kirishima-kun.

~.~.~

"Ah, that lunch was good!" Ito-kun cried just as we were straggling out of the dining room. During free time, we met up with some other boys on the basketball team and ended up trying out the rock wall, which one of the teachers was manning. I managed to get to the top and get down in a flash. The teacher and several kids were astounded by my speed, but I brushed it off. I wonder where Rima-chan is…? I mentally shook the thought out of my head. That thought kept popping back into my head almost every minute. It nibbled and bit in my head, hungry for an answer, but I refused to answer it. I didn't want Rima-chan to be madder than she seemed already. She seemed so calm before, before the trip or even that shopping trip, but now I could sense a bomb ticking, and I'd hate to see what would happen if I let it set off.

"Yeah," Sato-kun said, bringing me back to where I was. "Should we get packing?" We all nodded and went up to our room, which already had a bunch of other boys scrambling around to find their stuff in the clutters on the ground. Thankfully, I kept everything in a neat pile next to my futon, so I had a fairly easy time. It took a while helping out the other boys, and Ito-kun had a hard time finding one of his socks, but soon we lugged everything quite noisily down the stairs and headed over to the bus, when I spotted Rima-chan and her friends. The feeling washed over me again, and this time, instead of pushing it back, I let it push me forward.

"Um, I'll see you guys at the bus, okay?" I said.

Ito-kun looked confused, then looked over to see Rima-chan. He grinned. "Sure, we'll save you a seat in the back." He patted me on the back and left me standing there by myself. My legs cried to stay put, not to go and just get on the bus, but my head said no. I took a deep breath, and ran over to where Rima-chan was.

"Hello, there," I said as I neared toward them. Izumi-chan, Akane-chan, and Yuki-chan all greeted me. Amu-chan met me with a smile and another hello. Rima-chan, however, remained silent. I think she even groaned.

"Hello, Fujisaki-kun," Yuki-chan said. "What brings you over here? I just saw you over there with Ritsu-kun and Jiro-kun."

I laughed. "I just wanted to talk with you guys." I faintly heard Rima-chan grumble about something about freaks, but I ignored it. "How was your free time, anyways?" I politely asked.

"It was great!" Amu said. "We just sat in our dorm and chatted all the time. We even tried doing our hair!"

"Actually," Yuki inputted, "it was Amu-chan and Akane-chan who really enjoyed it. Rima-chan and Izumi-chan looked like they were about to kill themselves." I laughed, then stole a glance over at Rima-chan. I quickly turned back to the others.

"What about you, Yuki-chan?" I asked her.

Yuki-chan flicked her bangs and said, "I just got a manga and read it while Akane-chan put a few clips in my hair."

"She looked like a cute little elementary student with little pigtails," Amu-chan cooed. "I wanted Rima to do it, too, but she refused."

I laughed again, then turned to Rima-chan. "Why didn't you, Rima-chan?" I asked. "I think you'd be really cute with pigtails."

"No," Rima-chan said. "The pigtails would make me look even smaller than I already am. Not to mention I would fall down with the weight they would have."

I laughed again. "You're so funny, Rima-chan." This made Rima-chan glare at me again. I tried another approach. "I went on the rock wall this morning with Ito-kun, Sato-kun, and Kirishima-kun."

"Oh, really?" Izumi-chan said. "Did my brother cry in fear?"

I shook my head. "No. I think he did fine," I paused, then continued on. "The teacher said I was a natural on the rock wall. He said I had good reflexes and great speed."

"Like a squirrel," Rima-chan said.

Amu-chan laughed. "That's cute, Rima. Nagi with a bushy tail and collecting nuts? Hilariously adorable." The other girls laughed, but Rima-chan continued to frown in disapproval. That wasn't good. I looked at the crowd of kids lugging their bags to the bus. So close to leaving, I better do this or Ito-kun will mock me forever more. I sighed. "Can I talk with Rima-chan for a bit?"

The laughter stopped, and there was a bit of confusion in the atmosphere. "Why?" Amu asked. Great, should've thought of an excuse.

"Um," I said, trying to wing it. "Well, you see, I wanted to talk with Rima-chan about Japanese class and compare notes. I wanted to make sure Sensei was teaching the same thing."

Amu-chan frowned, then something must've clicked in her brain, so she said, "Sure, the girls and I will be waiting on the bus, Rima. We'll try and get a seat saved for you."

"Yeah!" Izumi said. "I'll pulverize anybody who tries to take it."

Rima-chan stifled a giggle, then said, "Right." But when their back disappeared into the crowd of students, Rima's smile turned back into the frown. "Okay, what is it?"

I smiled again, then said, "Let's go for a walk." Rima-chan looked slightly confused at that sudden request but did so, remaining a few paces behind me.

"Okay, what does walking have anything to do with Japanese writing and grammar?" she asked as we walked farther into the woods and away from people. Despite all of these emotions racing around inside me, I still wanted to do this away from the eyes and gossiping mouths of others.

"What's your favorite folk tale?" I suddenly asked, trying to ease the awkwardness coming between us.

"Um, why are you asking?" Rima said from behind me.

"Just tell me," I said.

"Uh, Kaguya-hime?"

"Oh, the one with the moon princess who was found by a bamboo cutter? Why's that?"

"Uh, gosh, I don't know. Guess it's 'cause I'm a girl? I don't know… Oh, I know. It's 'cause there were those loser bachelors who wanted to marry her, but she said she would if they would give impossible gifts. In the end, most of the guys tried forging it, but Kaguya-hime saw right through them and refused to marry them." This conversation seemed as awkward as the silence, but at least Rima-chan was talking to me and not threatening me.

"Oh, that's a good explanation," I said, still walking. "Was it because of it represented that you can't pretend to be in love?"

"Uh, no. I just like it 'cause all those losers got dumped."

I laughed. "That's quite funny, Rima-chan."

I heard the tiny footsteps of Rima-chan stop. I turned around. "Okay, first, what the heck is going on?" Rima-chan asked. "This is supposed to be about grammar and themes, right? So why are we talking about my favorite story?"

"But didn't we-" I tried to say, but Rima-chan cut me off.

"And will you quit calling me cute and funny? I am not some stereotypical blond who can be easily swayed by compliments. If you're ever gonna make your friend, just stop. Stop it all together. I am not your friend and I never will." Those words made me feel a bit angry. Friends? Why was she talking about friends when I was standing here with confused feelings and pressure from Ito-kun? _Friends?_ I took a deep breath.

"Rima-chan, come here," I said.

"No way," she complained.

I sighed. "Fine, then, be that way." I looked at her. Rima-chan glowered back and turned as if she was about to leave. No, don't leave. Not when the field trip is ending. I ran and grabbed Rima-chan's wrist.

"What the heck?" she said, alarmed. I took a deep breath and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Rima-chan, but I kind of have to."

And with that, I placed my lips on hers.

Every cell in my body jumped when I touched her, and my brain whizzed as I kept my lips on hers. It was my first time, so I didn't really know what to do except keep myself calm and stay where I was. It certainly wasn't helping that Rima-chan kept making muffled screams of protest. So, in conclusion, wasn't the greatest kiss, but it wasn't the worst. Finally, I broke the kiss when my lungs couldn't stand the lack of oxygen.

"W-What was that?" Rima-chan said. "W-Why did you…?" She started taking quick steps backwards. "I'm outta here. You are a- AH!" She wasn't looking, and she tripped over a huge tree root that was sticking out of the ground.

"Rima-chan!" I said, and ran to grab her. I caught her hand, and a look flashed across Rima-chan's face. Maybe she was scared I was going to kiss her again, and maybe I might've. But just as I turned my lips up into another smile, I lost my footing and fell.

_Crash!_

I managed to catch my fall with my hand, but now it stung. I opened my eyes, which were closed when I was waiting for impact, and suddenly I wished I hadn't. Rima-chan's face stared back at me, with her eyes almost as big as saucers. My hand was still gripping hers while my other, the one that stung, was next to her elbow, so close to touching her arm. I felt my knees touch her legs, which made my face heat up at the thought. Her long hair was spread out like a fan while mine hung down like a purple curtain. We lay there in silent shock, letting this current position sizzle in. Finally not taking the awkward silence any longer, I tried to speak.

"R-Rima-chan! I'm-" I was cut off by a voice in the distance, coming closer.

"Fujisaki-kun? Mashiro-san?" The voice, I remember, belonged to the class representative of my class. Oh, this is bad. Her voice continued to grow closer, until it finally was 15 meters away. "Mashiro-san? Fujisaki-" She stopped yelling, and I knew she was near. I turned my head and saw her looking dismayed at the current situation. "H-How? Why?" she said, letting the words spill out of her. Suddenly, she bowed and frantically said, "I'm sorry for disturbing you!" With that, she dashed off.

I started to slowly chuckle, but Rima-chan's voice stopped me. "Um…" she said. Realizing that I was still on top of her, I quickly got up. Dirt clung onto my pants, but that didn't matter when Rima-chan got up. The look she had on, she looked like she was about to yell, but she didn't. Instead, she ran off to the buses. "Wait, Rima-chan!" I called out to her, wanting to really apologize, to explain what that was all about. But with that look she had on, I doubt I'll ever be able to. I sighed, and ran to the buses.

"Hey! Nagihiko!" Ito-kun said as I took a seat across from and him and next to Kirishima-kun. I had gotten on the bus just in time, apologized to Sensei about being late, found Ito-kun in the back. He grinned when he saw me. "So, how'd it go?"

"Terrible," I said, surprising Ito-kun. "I doubt things will be the same ever again."

* * *

**Oh…oh shoot. I wrote 8 ****PAGES worth of a chapter in less than a week. (quickly checks page number) No, wait, scratch that. _8 PAGES AND A FRACTION OF A NINTH_. Aren't you so proud of me? ^_^;**

**On another note, writing in Nagihiko's POV was the hardest thing EVER. You don't know how many times I had to stop and change stuff like "Ritsu" to "Ito-kun" and "Amu" to "Amu-chan." Word of advice: Unless you want to grow very angry at the long-haired Fujisaki, please refrain from typing in his POV. His politeness is too much for our brains to handle. I'd rather type in Amu and Rima's POV, but, alas, this chapter called for Nagihiko's view.**

**Speaking of this chapter, I sure hope you're all happy with what happened. Actually, I'm POSITIVE that you're Inner Rimahiko Fan Girl came out when you read this (yes, even you). But let's hope the fangirly-ness could lay off for a while so I can hear some reviews. Thank you for reading this chapter! And I'm getting back to Rima's mind next chapter! Tee hee, she's not a happy camper now! Review, please!**


	12. Don't Trust the Class Rep

**Chapter 12: Don't Trust the Class Rep**

* * *

I stared blankly out the window as the bus went over yet another pot hole. Every kid in the back screamed in enthusiasm, but Amu here in the front let out a nervous squeak here even though she was quite far from the pandemonium. Izumi, who was sitting in front of us, laughed, then turned around to talk to us. "Hey, Rima," she asked.

"Yes?" I said.

"Why _were_ you and Fujisaki late?"

I felt my cheeks burn as I quickly replied back, "Th-that's none of you business!"

Izumi narrowed her eyes and snickered, "Private business, no?"

"Shut up!" I said.

Izumi raised her hands in defense and said, "I didn't say anything." Akane, who was sitting next to Izumi, giggled nervously. Yuki was across from Amu and me, listening intently to the conversation.

Amu then spoke up. "You guys have a ReiNet account, right?" she asked.

"Who doesn't?" Yuki answered simply.

"That's great!" Amu said. "Then can you guys write down your account names for me and I'll invite you as friends!"

Akane piped up. "That's a great idea, Hinamori-chan!" And with that, Yuki produced a tiny notebook from her backpack and she, Akane, and Izumi scribbled down their account names. Izumi then handed it to Amu, who stowed it away in her own backpack, then quickly told the girls what username they should be looking for. The bus jumped at another pot hole and Amu screamed in fear. We all laughed at her cowardice. I felt glad that nobody else was asking about what happened back there that made me late. No questions on what Nagihiko did. No theories on what may have happened. No prodding and poking until I finally told them that…that…Nagihiko… that he…k…ki… I immediately killed that thought as quickly as it appeared and crossed my arms and looked out the window for the rest of the drive back to school.

Finally, the bus screeched to a stop in front of Seiyo, and I immediately stood up and made my way through the crowd with Amu, Izumi, Akane, and Yuki. "We'll keep in touch through ReiNet during break, right?" Amu asked to our new buddies.

Izumi nodded. "Yep, I'll be waiting for your request!" She grinned in satisfaction, then waved goodbye as she stayed behind to find Ritsu. We all waved and then parted ways. Mom was waiting for me outside of the school gates.

"Mom!" I said. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought it be nice to see you right after you get back," she said. "Besides, we need a little mother-daughter time." So that's how I ended up in Mom's car driving to our house. The middle school isn't that far from our home, but since Mom decided to take the car and she's already here, I guess I shouldn't refuse. "How was the field trip, Rima-chan?" Mom asked and suddenly all feeling in my body left.

"Um, it went well," I answered.

"Really? How so?"

"Uh, well, I met some girls who are in a different class then me and they seem pretty nice. We're going to chat online during summer vacation."

"Oh? Is that it?"

My throat got caught with all the words swimming inside. I don't want to tell Mom about what happened in the woods, but lying is just as bad. Well, it's best not to tell her about what happened… "Yeah, that's kind of it."

Mom raised an eyebrow. "Wow, and I thought my middle school field trip was boring."

"What did you do?" I asked, suddenly glad of the change of topic.

"Oh, my ninth grade class went to a farm, but we didn't want to, so…" The car was filled with Mom's endless story of what happened. The way she told it made it seem like as boring as staring at a wall all day, far more boring than how my trip had been. The thought of Nagihiko popped in to my head. The looks of anxiety and franticness his face had back in the woods. Those looks seemed…imperfect. I shook my head. No, Nagihiko is one hundred percent perfect. There is no way he can't be imperfect. Maybe it was the sun getting to me… Wait, I shouldn't even be thinking about this in the first place! I tried concentrating on Mom's boring trip instead for the rest of the ride.

~.~.~

We arrived back home and the first thing I did was race upstairs. I dumped my stuff on my bed and raced to grab my laptop. I planned on putting my stuff away later, but now calls for reinet .com. Right now, in this instant. The first thing I did was log in on as Rei. Ignoring the wall of messages, I pulled up the blog page and started to furiously type.

_Date: Friday; June 12th, 2:06 PM_

_Mood: Steaming_

_Title: Worst. Field Trip. Ever._

_ARGGHHH! MY LIFE IS SO FRUSTRATING! UGHHHH…!_

_Okay, I should start in a more civilized manner, right? Let's quickly rewind here for a bit: I just came back from my class trip, right? Right? How was it, you ask? Not bad, but not excellent. Actually, kind of below the satisfactory line. Like 10,000 leagues below. Oh shoot, I can't keep a sane face on for any longer. Prepare for an all-caps spasm. One…two…_

_NF EFFIN' KISSED ME! DO YOU THINK I'M HAPPY ABOUT THAT? NO, I'M NOT! HOW AM I? VERY, VERY STEAMED! (No, not like the Chinese buns) UGH… NF SHOULDN'T THINK HE HAS THE EFFIN' AUTHORITY TO GO AROUND AND DO WHATEVER HE WANTS TO ME! AND WHAT'S WORSE IS THAT HE "ACCIDENTALLY" SLIPPED AND FELL ON TOP OF ME! UGH… THAT'S GOING TOO FAR!_

_Ugh, in more civilized news, I met some new people during the trip. They're in another class, but they're really cool. Who are they? Let's call them I-chan, Ka-chan, and Yu-chan. The only downside of being friends with them is that I-chan's brother and Ka-chan's boyfriend are both on the basketball team, which is also where NF is in. Talk about the worst luck ever… But on the bright side, I'm hoping these three will show up in my blogs often in the future! Now if you need me, I'll be sorting through the wonderful messages you guys left me while I'm away!_

After I sent the blog with no afterthought about it, I jumped over to the inbox and busied myself with the messages. Not a lot compared to what I usually got, but there was still plenty to sort through. Just as I was about finished, a new chat request popped up. It was BluePinkFlowers. Sighing in relief for somebody to explain my problems to, I clicked yes.

_Rei: Hey there_

_BluePinkFlowers: Oh, hello_

_BluePinkFlowers: I was reading your blog. It's very interesting_

_Rei: Interesting? I think the word you mean is aggravating_

_BluePinkFlowers: I don't think it's that bad_

_Rei: Bad? You're kidding, right? My nemesis can't go around doing what he pleases_

_BluePinkFlowers: But aren't that what perfect people supposed to do? I'm pretty sure I read a story once where plenty of perfect people can do whatever they want._

This was starting to aggravate me. BluePinkFlowers was supposed to comfort me, give me advice, but here sh…he. He's a he. Here he is, telling me its _okay_ for Nagihiko to do this? Okay? _OKAY?_ My fingers took action without any afterthought.

_Rei: What? Are you now saying that I should just stand aside and let NF take over?_

_BluePinkFlowers: I'm not saying that. I'm just trying to calm you down._

_Rei: Calm down? I'm calm enough, thank you very much_

_BluePinkFlowers: I wouldn't say that…_

_Rei: Are you trying to be annoying?_

_BluePinkFlowers: No, that's not it_

_Rei: Then what?_

_BluePinkFlowers: …_

_Rei: That's it. If you can't give me an answer, then I'm leaving_

_BluePinkFlowers: No, don't!_

I angrily hovered my mouse right over the X button, about to close the window and open up a new one, when something dawned on me: I was being stupid. Very, very stupid. BluePinkFlowers was trying to help and I'm just sitting here with anger pouring out like a fountain. I sighed and instead of smashing my mouse on the X button, I typed:

_Rei: Fine. I decided not to._

_BluePinkFlowers: Yay!_

_Rei: :)_

_Rei: So how was your day? Did everything go well with that girl?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Huh?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Ohhhh… You mean that letter, right?_

_Rei: Yeah_

_BluePinkFlowers: Eh, I don't think it went well…_

_Rei: How so?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Well, I think I got two steps closer, and then maybe five steps back_

_Rei: Oh, really?_

_Rei: Explain_

_BluePinkFlowers: I'd rather not…_

_Rei: Oh, do it for the all-powerful creator of this site who can send rabid fans on you if she wants to via blog_

_BluePinkFlowers: Okay, okay, fine…_

_BluePinkFlowers: Well, let's just say it was AWKWARD_

_Rei: Awkward?_

_BluePinkFlowers: I'd rather not go into detail…_

_Rei: Oh, come on, tell me_

_BluePinkFlowers: You know what, I think my mom is calling me. Got to go_

_Rei: OK. Bye!_

_BluePinkFlowers: Bye!_

Once BluePinkFlowers bid me goodbye, I decided I should log off Rei's account. As soon as I clicked log out, I hit login and quickly filled out the necessary for my other account. Though when I entered online, nobody was on. My inbox for messages were empty, a stark contrast to Rei's inbox. Sighing, I clicked up a new tab and found something to do for a little. I interested myself with anime and idiotic videos. Gosh, why would someone…? I shuddered as I stopped the video and rubbed my eyes. Man, when did my eyes ache this much? Guess this is what happens when you're sitting in a chair for so long. I decided now was the perfect time to take a break and actually do something that doesn't involve my computer.

I stretched out my short legs and hopped off my chair. The first thing my eyes landed on was my duffle bag, backpack, and Kusukusu, all scattered on my bed the moment I got in here. Right, I should clear those away.

I strode over and carefully propped Kusukusu against a pillow, and opened up my backpack. Books? Check? Toothbrush and other necessary toiletries? Check. Okay, everything is here. Better put them away. I jammed my books back into my little bookcase and dumped the toiletries in my bathroom. Well, that's was easy. I turned next to my duffle bag, the holder of my outfits. I took a deep breath and unzipped it.

Jeez, there's a ton of clothes I didn't bother wearing during the field trip. Well, I guess that's what happens with girls. Stuff our bags with unnecessary things that may or may not come in handy later. Sorting through the rumpled, worn clothes with the ones that weren't covered in dirt, I finally got it into two messy yet organized piles. The first thing I should do is hang up the unworn things, then I'll go and throw my clothes in the hamper. Yeah, that sounds good. I opened up the door to my closet.

The first thing I noticed that hinted that Mom ransacked my closet was that I saw a familiar orange tank top and brown pants on hooks. Memories flashed from spring when Yaya and Amu forced me to get that outfit. I looked down, and there was the bag that went with the hideous outfit sitting in the corner of my closet. Now, I don't think I have the world's greatest memory, but I'm pretty sure the bag was thrown in the deepest depths of my closet, meaning behind some boxes and completely out of sight. Oh, I'm so going to interrogate Mom later. Muttering under my breath, I went over and picked up the bag just to check if she did any further damage. Nothing, absolutely nothing, well, except for the receipt. Wait, I don't remember a receipt that tiny. I scrambled and fumbled with my fingers to grab it and pull it to the light to check what it said.

_RhythmBoy_

Oh… It was only Nagihiko's username. Oh yeah, he wrote it down so we can "chat." Yeah, like he'll ever again. I bit my lip and felt my cheeks heat up with anger, when I noticed a scribble. A scribble somebody would only do if they accidently wrote something in pen. I immediately brought it closer and squinted at the scribble. _B…l…_ Shoot, only two letters. Well, knowing Nagihiko, it could just be some lame shopping list like _Black silk_ or something, before he realized he was so effin' perfect he could just easily scratch it down in his head.

_Ping!_

I looked up from my closet and at my computer. Knowing that sound, somebody obviously sent me something on reinet .com. Dropping the paper, I ran back to my laptop. Amu invited me to chat. Uh, duh, I'm going to say yes.

**ComedyQueen123 has joined your conversation!**

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima!_

_ComedyQueen123: Hey, Amu_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Well, i just logged on and saw that u were online, so I thought it'd be nice if we chatted_

_ComedyQueen123: And Yaya isn't on?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Nope_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Though you can probably tell 2_

_ComedyQueen123: Er, yeah_

_ComedyQueen123: How about Izumi and the others?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: I sent their friend requests a few minutes ago_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Hey! akane and izumi replied back! they said yes!_

_ComedyQueen123: Great! Invite them over!_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: I'm doing that!_

**Spring-Basketball-Gal has joined your conversation!**

_Spring-Basketball-Gal: yo!_

_ComedyQueen123: Hi_

_Spring-Basketball-Gal: Wuts up, rima?_

**LadyScarlett has joined your conversation!**

_ComedyQueen123: Nice username_

_LadyScarlett: Thank you ^_^;_

_Spring-Basketball-Gal: I bet jiro helped you pick it out =w=_

_LadyScarlett: Actually, no. I was quite a fan of Victorian things in sixth grade_

_Spring-Basketball-Gal: …_

_ComedyQueen123: heh…_

_LadyScarlett: Oh, hello there Mashiro-chan_

_ComedyQueen123: Hi Akane. Where's Yuki?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: I sent her the friend request the same time as izumi's and akane's but she never replied back yet_

_Spring-Basketball-Gal: Ha, knowing her she's doing some otaku stuff right about now and hasn't noticed it yet_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: I see…_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Ah, Yuki replied!_

_Spring-Basketball-Gal: gr8!_

**xHappyxSnowx has joined your conversation!**

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Yuki!_

_xHappyxSnowx: my, wut a warm welcome_

_Spring-Basketball-Gal: wut's up?_

_LadyScarlett: How are you?_

_xHappyxSnowx: im doing fine_

_ComedyQueen123: Hey_

_xHappyxSnowx: ah, rima, rite?_

_ComedyQueen123: yeah?_

_xHappyxSnowx: im not sure if this is rude, but if im wrong, weren't you and fujisaki-kun in the woods and something happen to make you late?_

_ComedyQueen123: Come again?_

_xHappyxSnowx: r u and fujisaki-kun in some kind of relationship?_

I stared at the screen in silent shock. W-w-w…WHAT? Amu replied, practically reading my mind.

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: What r u talking about?_

_xHappyxSnowx: i was talkin with class rep moments ago and she told me how she went to find u 2 and she found fujisaki-kun on top of u_

What? But…how? I then remembered a girly voice squealing, "I'm sorry for disturbing you!" Huh, so that's what it was. I didn't turn my head because my head hurt so much from hitting the ground hard that I thought moving it would hurt even more. Patting the back of my head, it didn't feel like it did before. Maybe only a bruise. Yet, my lips tingled from when Nagihiko…ah, forget it. Kill the thought.

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: What?_

_LadyScarlett: Oh my…_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Is this true?_

_xHappyxSnowx: ask the girl who was pinned to ground_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima?_

_xHappyxSnowx: Seems like rima doesn't want to tell_

_Spring-Basketball-Gal: well, u did say that class rep saw it, and u know her…_

_Spring-Basketball-Gal: congrats, rima!_

_LadyScarlett: Rima, you know that it's best to respond to people, right?_

_LadyScarlett: Rima?_

_AmuletCoolnSpicy: Rima, u better reply back_

_ComedyQueen123: I need to pack my stuff away. I'll see you on the chats tomorrow maybe._

_ComedyQueen123: Bye_

I logged off and closed my window, but instead of getting up and hanging up clothes and throwing stuff into the hamper, I put my head down on my arms. Why is Nagihiko so stupid? Why my life have to be miserable? Why are girls gossipy? Ugh… Then, when I thought my misery was going to get worse, something dawned on to me. At least she didn't stumble on Nagihiko, er, kissing me. Yeah… Well, it could be worse. Ugh, I want summer vacation to go on forever… I'm so going to hate hearing the rumors flying when I get back…

* * *

**OH GOSH I'M SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING ANY SOONER! I'M SUCH A PROCRASTINATOR!**

**Yeah…well, here's the aftermath of the last chapter. It's pretty slow in my opinion, but then again I was on a slight writer's block and procrastination was slowly eating at me, so I guess you can expect that much. Hopefully the next chapter will pop up quicker than this one. Gosh, summer vacation can make you update faster and then you slip and be a lump of laziness in it. Must update sooner... Wait, I'm going to be busy next week so I won't be updating sooner. Shoot. Well, in maybe two weeks time I'll get the next chapter up. (The keyword there is hope. HOPE, MAN.)**

**Thank you for reading this chapter! Please tell me what you think by reviewing!**


	13. Romantic Summers, My Foot

**Chapter 13: Romantic Summers, My Foot**

* * *

Argh, it's already been like two weeks or so into vacation and I am so not enjoying it. Rei has been doing fine, but on my other account I'm being dragged into "friendly chats" constantly by Amu, Izumi, Yuki, Akane, and Yaya, who, by the way, got clued in by my _best friend_ Amu. And by friendly chats, I mean interrogations and endless teasing. Oh. My. Gosh, it's annoying.

On the bright side of things, I got BluePinkFlowers to talk to. At least he can offer me consolation for my misery. Speaking of him, there he was sitting in inbox. Heck yes, I'm chatting with him.

_Rei: Back again?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Oh, hello. How are you today?_

_Rei: Same as the last time you talked to me: annoyed with my friends_

_BluePinkFlowers: And NF?_

_Rei: Yeah, him too_

_BluePinkFlowers: Why don't you just ignore them?_

_Rei: Yeah, try ignoring people constantly asking you what the heck happened back there_

_BluePinkFlowers: Eh, you do got a point there_

_Rei: How's your life?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Ah, I don't think it's better than yours?_

_Rei: Why?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Well, let's just say my friends are being as persistent as yours_

_Rei: Oh? What happened?_

_BluePinkFlowers: It's complicated_

_Rei: I see…_

_Rei: You can't even give me a hint?_

_BluePinkFlowers: Let's just say that they heard something and want details_

_Rei: What happened?_

_BluePinkFlowers: My lips are sealed_

_Rei: Oh, come on. Secrets don't make friends_

_Rei: Hold on, I think I hear my cell ringing_

_BluePinkFlowers: OK_

As soon as BluePinkFlowers gave me a reply, I dove at my phone ringing its annoying, happy-go-lucky ringtone. Honestly, what was I thinking when I was in 6th grade? I answered, "Hello?"

"Rima?"

"Amu!" I said, with a hint of sarcasm. "Why did you call?"

"Oh, well, I was just chatting with Yaya, Akane, Yuki, and Izumi and they just told me that the summer festival was tomorrow night and I just realized that all my yukatas are too small! Do you want to come with me and the others to the shopping mall?"

I raised my eyebrows slightly at the phone. "Uh, yeah, sure. I guess…" What the heck am I saying? Why am I agreeing? Do I _want_ to commit suicide from teasing? Ugh, curse me and my reflexes…

I could feel the sparkles floating around Amu as she said, "Oh my gosh! That's awesome! I'll see you in an hour, m'kay?" Before I could reply, I heard a _click!_ and the familiar _beeeeeeeeep…_ telling me that Amu had hung up. Sighing, I returned my chat with BluePinkFlowers.

_Rei: I'm back! But I think I have to log off soon_

_BluePinkFlowers: Why's that?_

_Rei: A-chan called. She wants me to go with her and my other "friends" on a shopping trip_

_BluePinkFlowers: Summer festival?_

_Rei: Yeah. How'd you know?_

_BluePinkFlowers: It's coming up for me where I am_

_Rei: Oh_

_Rei: Well, I have to go. See you!_

_BluePinkFlowers: Bye!_

As soon as I logged off, I quickly checked over my current outfit. Thankfully, I was wearing something that wouldn't stand out from everybody else: a yellow tank top with lace and a jean miniskirt. Decent enough. Just have to do something about my hair… After another losing battle with my hairbrush, I managed to pull on the same old black headband and race out my room and downstairs where Mom and Dad were. "Hey, Mom? Dad? Can I go shopping with Amu?"

There was a pause, then a question. "Who is going?" Great, Dad has to be overprotective _now_?

"Dad!" I said. "I'm just going with some girls!"

"No boys?"

"Dad…"

Dad chuckled. "Only kidding. Have a good trip, and don't waste all your money on something like a dress."

"Dad!"

"Only joking!"

I sighed, bid my parents goodbye for the day, and headed out the door and past the regular landmarks. In no time I reached the shopping center and found Amu and the others. Amu was, as expected, clad in a gray T-shirt and skirt with pink stockings and black belts. Yaya was dressed in a loud orange mini-dress with yellow stockings and rainbow bangles on her legs and arms, respectively. Izumi was dressed in denim and a white tee. Akane was in a red v-neck and a white pleated skirt. And Yuki decked herself in a pink and yellow tee with skinny jeans.

"Hey guys!" I said, running up to them.

"Hey Rima!" Amu said, grinning at the full party. "All right, let's go!"

With that, Amu led us into a store stocked to the ceiling with kimonos and yukatas. Amu took an armful and dashed to the dressing room. Moments later, she came out wearing a peach pink yukata with white flowers dotted all over and a yellow obi wrapped around her waist. "What do you think?" Amu asked.

"It looks nice," Akane complimented.

"It's pretty!" Yaya said.

"The yukata compliments your hair nicely," I said.

"Thanks!" Amu beamed. "Though I think I want to get one in a different color. I wear too much pink." She's saying this _now? _She's been wearing pink for as long as I knew her, maybe even longer! An image of a baby Amu in a pink and black onesie flashed my mind.

"Mm, good point," Izumi said.

"How about purple?" Yuki offers. "Pink and purple go together, right?"

"Good point!" Amu said. "I think I have one in here…" With that, she disappeared back into the dressing room. This time, it took her a while. Akane started casually talking with Izumi while Yuki started to talk about some anime to Yaya. I was all alone, sitting on a bench, when I felt somebody creep up on me. I looked up, and Naghiko stared back. I think he looked a bit red…like a sunburn. Ha, I crack myself up. Fujisakis don't burn. They don't even tan. They're just pale, like vampires.

"What the heck are you doing here?" I asked him.

Nagihiko just simply backed off and put on a smile. I turn around to face him and glare. "I'm just here on errands."

"Errands?"

"For my family."

By then, the others have taken notice of the ever-annoying purple-haired male. "Oh! Fujisaki-kun!" Akane said.

"Yo, Fujisaki!"

"Good afternoon, Fujisaki-kun."

"Nagi!" Yaya screeched, making everybody stare at her. Insert facepalm here.

"Hello, everyone," Nagihiko happily said, leaving me be for a few moments. Thank goodness…

"What is Nagi doing here?" Yaya asked.

"I'm shopping for a few yukatas and kimonos for my family," Nagihiko explained in more detail.

"Oh, that's right," Yuki said, "Your family holds dance lessons, right?"

Nagihiko nodded. "That's right, Yuki-chan. I'm here because Auntie and Mother were much too busy to go themselves. And might I ask what you ladies are doing here?"

Right on cue, Amu came out of the dressing room donning a purple yukata with a red obi wrapped around her. "Hey, guys, what do you…" Her voice trailed off when she laid eyes on our new addition. "Nagi! What are you doing here?"

Once again, Nagihiko explained about his family and errands and kimonos and such. After he finished his third explanation, Yuki then turned to Yaya and Amu and asked, "Hey, what was that nickname you called Fujisaki-kun?"

"Oh? You mean Nagi?" Yaya answered. Yuki nodded. "Oh, that's just a nickname Yaya used since Amu-chi, Rima-tan, and Yaya first met Nagi back in elementary school."

"I see…" Yuki said, her head bobbing up and down. "Does Rima-chan call him that?"

"Uh, no," Yaya said. "Unless it's online!"

"That's because it's a pain in the neck to type his whole name!" I countered, though I could see Nagihiko grinning like an idiot. I'll wipe that smile off his face some day…some day…

"Well," Nagihiko said. "I better go back shopping. See you girls later." With that, he strolled back to some random rack and shuffled through it.

"Wonder why he came over," Izumi commented.

"It's because Rima-tan was over here!" Yaya said, and immediately my mind flashed back to the woods and my face heated up. With anger and annoyance.

"Shut up!" I snapped, making Yaya whimper.

"Oh, come on, Rima!" Izumi said. "Attention's not that bad, is it?"

"Um…" Amu said. "Uh, well, what do you guys think of this one?" Immediately, our attention turned back to Amu and her endless shopping. Thank goodness…

~.~.~

"Do you really want to go out alone?"

"Mom!" I whined, tugging at my obi. "I'm perfectly capable of going out with friends to the summer festival! I'm not in elementary anymore." Tonight was, as said, the summer festival and Mom was helping me with my hair, since she seems to be the only one who could tame my hair for a little more than I could. I was wearing a yellow yukata with a white obi and currently Mom was placing my vicious mane of blond on top of my head. Once she finished, my hair was in a large mound on top of my head, but it looked good. "Thanks, Mom."

"Any time, Rima," Mom answered. "Now, make sure you have your cell phone in your purse, and plenty of money, too. You know how much those stalls charge."

"Mom…" I said. "I'm already 13. I can take care of myself just fine."

Mom look slightly surprised for a moment, then said, "Okay, Rima. Sorry, I just keep on thinking you're still in elementary."

"It's fine, Mom, really," I said. "I got to go. Thanks for doing my hair!"

"You're welcome. And have a good time with your friends!"

I charged out the door, then stumbled and decided on a trotting pace would do. Amu said we'll meet at the old playground, since it isn't too far from the train station. From the train we'll go to the shrine where all the festivities are. Gosh, living in a big city can be quite the pain…

After finding Amu and Yaya and the others, we ambled our way to the station and to the shrine. By the time we got there, everything was in full swing.

"Wow! Look at all the stalls!" Yaya said, swinging her arms around and admiring the stalls. She was in an orange yukata and had on a red obi.

"Do you really just think about the stalls?" I ask her.

"Lighten up, Rima," Izumi said. She was wearing a light blue yukata with a red obi. "After all, it's a festival!" Akane giggled a little. She was wearing a red yukata with a yellow obi.

"Well, what are we standing around here for?" Yuki said. "Let's go and join in." Yuki was wearing a lavender yukata and a yellow obi.

"Yeah!" Amu shouted. Amu was wearing the purple yukata from the other day…of course. Pretty soon, we were wandering around, browsing at the stalls while Yaya splurged all her money on food things like shaved ice and dangos. She was now dragging me to a stall filled with assorted cotton candy.

"Come on, Rima-tan!" she said, clinging on to my sleeve. "You hardly spent anything!"

"That's because some of these stalls are really expensive, Yaya," I pointed out.

"Come on!" Yaya whined, making her infamous pouty face. "Just buy some cotton candy with me, please?"

I sighed. "Okay, just this once." With that, I bought a sugary cotton candy with Yaya and started to munch on it. Hey, it wasn't that bad! Kind of sticky, but it was pretty good.

"It's just like a cloud!" Yaya exclaimed as she bit into hers.

"Like you've eaten a cloud before," I said. Suddenly, I bumped into somebody. "Ah! Excuse…" I trailed off when I got sight of the familiar purple hair.

"Rima-chan! Yaya-chan!" Nagihiko said, plastering a smile on to his face. He was dressed in his own yukata, a dark blue one. "Fancy bumping into you two. Where are Amu-chan and the others?"

"Yaya thinks Amu-chi, Yuki-chi, Izumi-tan, and Akane-tan went to go goldfish scooping!" Yaya said. "Rima-tan and Yaya got some cotton candy!" Yaya proudly held out her cotton candy as if it were a torch to be passed along.

"I see…" Nagihiko said, then turned to me. "Are you enjoying that?"

At that point, I had my mouth buried in the cotton, so I lifted my head up and said, "Yeah, until you came."

Nagihiko raised his eyebrows, then said, "Oh, Rima-chan, I think you got a little bit of cotton candy on you. Here, let me…" He didn't finish his sentence, but instead stretched out his hand and slowly moved it towards my face. Realizing what's going to happen, I immediately swatted the incoming hand of doom and stepped back.

"I can get it my self, thank you very much," I snapped, rubbing my sleeve all over my mouth and not caring if there's now pink fluffiness covering the yellow sleeve. Just as long as Nagihiko isn't touching me. I do not want another trip in the woods.

Nagihiko looked alarmed, then his face looked flushed. "Oh, um, uh, I'm sorry. I better get going. See you girls around!" Quickly, he dashed past us. No sooner did that purple hair disappear, did Yaya get up all in my face.

"Why didn't Rima-tan let Nagi get the candy for you?" Yaya whined.

"Why? Do I look like I wanted a boy touching my face?" I said.

"But it was going to be just like a romance manga!" Yaya continued. "Yaya always wanted to see a moment like that!"

"Then go get one yourself!" I said. "Come on, let's go find Amu and the others. Oh, and if you tell them what happened, I'll murder you in your sleep. Just saying."

Yaya whimpered, but didn't say anything and obediently followed me as we looked for Amu, Izumi, Akane, and Yuki. Fortunately, we found them standing around the goldfish scooping stall with quite a few fishy friends.

"Yuki is pretty good at goldfish scooping," Amu said. "I think I'll give mine to Ami. She'll love it, and besides, I'm terrible with pets."

"Here, you can have one, Yaya-chan," Yuki said, handing Yaya a bag.

"Wah…" Yaya said. "It's so cute! Oh! Oh! Guess what happened with Yaya and Rima-tan!"

Oh gosh, she couldn't have already forgotten about what I made her promise already. I sent Yaya a glare just as Izumi said, "Oh? What?"

Yaya caught my glare and she froze. "Uh, well…" she said. "Yaya met up with one of her 7th grade friends! She really likes sewing, so she wanted to ask Yaya stuff about Yaya's yukata so she could get some references!"

"That's it?" Izumi said, raising an eyebrow. "That sounds boring."

"It's not!" Yaya complained, stomping her foot on the ground.

Amu turned to me as Izumi was quickly apologizing to Yaya. "Where'd you get that?" she asked, pointing to my sleeve. I looked down, and there, in plain sight, were the pink marks of the cotton candy. Shoot.

"Yaya pointed out that I had some cotton candy on me and I wiped my yukata sleeve on it," I said. "I guess I was careless and forgot that it would smear all over the yukata."

Amu raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Pretty soon, it was pretty close to the fireworks to start. "Come on, you guys!" Yaya shouted at the top of her lungs. "Let's find the best spot! Hurry up!"

"All right!" Izumi said, and sprinted with Yaya, leaving Amu, Akane, and Yuki to jog after them and me lagging behind.

"Guys? Guys! Slow down, for crying out loud!" I said, panting for air. It was too late, because I already lost sight of Akane and her red yukata in the crowd. Shoot. Shoot, shoot, _shoot_. I stumbled over my own feet while attempting to run in my yukata and a hand immediately grabbed my sleeve before I fell face first into the dirt. "Oh, gosh, tha-" I stopped short to thank my "savior", because I turned to see Nagihiko holding on to my sleeve.

Okay, I was only joking when I mentioned in my blog that he somehow planted trackers in my clothes, but now I'm starting to really get paranoid. How the _heck_ does he know where I am?

"Are you okay, Rima-chan?" Nagihiko asked, as if he wasn't a potential stalker at all. His eyebrows were furrowed in a worried look.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "That is, until you showed your face."

"That's not nice, Rima-chan," Nagihiko commented. "Where is Yaya-chan and the others?"

"They went to find a good spot for the fireworks," I said. Why am I telling him where my friends are? Why am I even talking to him? "But my athletic skills failed me to catch up to them."

Nagihiko chuckled. Why is he laughing? Augh, he's hopeless to understand. "That's not good." Then why the heck were you laughing at me? "Hey, why don't we find our own spot for the fireworks?"

"Why?" I asked.

Nagihiko's face looked slightly flushed, though it was hard to tell. For all I care, it could just be the lighting that made his cheeks pink. "Um, well, uh, since it would be impossible to find your friends in this crowd, um, I just thought that, uh, we could watch it without them. If that's okay with you, of course."

I raised my eyebrows. Was that just me, or was that _far_ too many ums and uhs for a Fujisaki. Though I could be imagining that. A Fujisaki always speak in perfectly grammatical sentences. "No, thank you. I think I'm fine by myself." I turned to leave and find a space in the growing crowd.

"No, wait!" I turned back around to Nagihiko. He looked surprised at my response, but he said, "A girl like you shouldn't go in a crowd alone. Really, you could get trampled."

I felt slightly angered at what he was saying. Was he saying I was weak? "I'm capable of finding a spot _myself_."

"B-but…" Nagihiko said. "I need to find a spot myself, so why don't we find one together?"

Why is he so persistent? Augh, I think the fireworks are going to start soon, and I don't want to waste time arguing with him. "Fine," I said bluntly. "You can find a spot with me. Just don't bother me during the show, okay?"

Nagihiko looked surprised, and then slightly relieved. We made our way into the throng of the growing crowd, though we couldn't find a good spot except in the back by some rocks. Nagihiko let me take the rocks since he's taller than me, which was fine by me. The fireworks were pretty cool, too. They lit up the sky with bright colors such as red, yellow, white, and blue. And the best thing about them was that Nagihiko was silent throughout all of them! So silent that I totally forgot about him until the last firework was gone from the sky and the sky returned to its plain dark blue. "Rima-chan?" The sound of Nagihiko's face nearly made me topple off my perch, but I managed to regain my balance and answer.

"What?"

"Uh, is it okay if I gave you this?" Nagihiko quickly pulled out a yellow teddy bear. I didn't realize he was holding that until now. The bear was about the same size as Kusukusu, though maybe a tad bigger. It wasn't as yellow as the bunny Amu had back at the field trip, but it was a creamy yellow. Kind of like cream puffs. "I kind of won this at a stall and I don't really want to have it. Do you want it?"

I blinked. A teddy bear? It was cute, I guess, but it came from him… "No," I said, once again shocking Nagihiko. "No. I already had enough of you for tonight. The last thing I need is for your presence to be with me all day and night. You do realize that even after _that_ we're not friends. Do you hear me? We. Are. _Not_. Friends. So keep that teddy bear."

With that, I quickly excused myself to find Amu and the others. It took a while, what with the crowd, but I did find them. "Rima! Where were you?" Amu asked once I found them. "We couldn't find you anywhere and thought you could've been trampled by the crowd!"

"I just found a place by myself and watched the fireworks," I lied. Better to not let them know. I have more than enough drama in my life.

* * *

**Yay! Another chapter! (tears of joy go here)**

**Sorry for having you guys wait more, but I had a busy week last week. Not to mention next week I have a week of camp, meaning no computer access (sob :'( ) I guess I have a busy summer, since I know after next week's camp, I'll have another camp (at least that one's a day camp and I can type on the afternoons/evenings, but still…) Augh…**

**This chapter in my opinion was slightly filler, but I do hope that you enjoyed it! I had fun doing Fujisaki stereotypes, and even more fun with the "romancey" bits (although I'm slightly embarrassed about writing those ^_^;) I do hope you liked this chapter, though, and do please review! Thank you again for making through another chapter of Ask Rei!**


	14. I Hate This Term Already

**Chapter 14: I Hate This Term Already**

* * *

"Hey, isn't that Mashiro Rima?"

"Yeah, yeah. Did you really think…?"

"Oh, I don't know. But just think…"

Those were the whispers that followed me all the way up from the school grounds. Even the usual fans I usually had disappeared among the whispers. When I finally saw Amu and Yaya in the hallways, the whispers were still there.

"Oh my God, you don't really think that she…"

"I swear, that's what she said!"

"Good morning, Amu, Yaya," I said, walking up to the two, who seemed like they were caught up in a deep discussion. Apparently I surprised them, because they jumped and were shaking when they bid me hello.

"Ah! Good morning, Rima!" Amu said.

"It's a new term, Rima-tan!" Yaya said. And it was. The September air was starting to chill and everybody was back to sweaters and jackets. Well, I'm glad that summer is gone. I had too many problems back then. The field trip being one of them.

But before I could answer, a timid girl from another class inched herself away from a group of whispering girls and said, "Ah, um, e-excuse me, but you're Mashiro Rima, r-right?"

"Um, yeah?" I said. "And?"

"Ah, um, um, well, you see, but are the rumors true?"

"Rumors?" I said. I've been absorbed in so much Rei that I'd had hardly any time to talk with my school buddies. Much less Nagihiko, which was good.

"Ah, um, yeah…" the poor girl was starting to turn red. "Are you and Fujisaki-kun in…" the following words came out of her in a whisper, "_a relationship._"

Surprise and shock don't even begin to describe the thoughts going through my brain. I started to feel warmth creep up in my neck and my cheeks. "No," I said, putting on a smile. "We aren't. What makes you think that?"

"Ah, well, that's what I heard from some of my friends and-"

"Please tell them that they're wrong," I said in the most polite way I can muster at the moment. "Fujisaki-kun and I have nothing in common."

"Ah! Yes!" the girl ran off in a hurry and I turned back to Yaya and Amu.

"What was that all about?" I asked, and immediately Yaya and Amu freeze up.

"Ah, um, w-well…" Amu said. "You remember the field trip, right?"

At the mention of it, I immediately flash to Nagihiko in the forest. I feel my face burn and my body go and as I say, "Um, no…"

"Ah, well, um, the class rep kind of started spreading these um, er, rumors and…" Amu trailed off and Yaya finished for her.

"People are saying that Rima-tan and Nagi are going out and Nagi confessed his love for Rima in the forest and, and…!" Amu clapped a hand over the pigtailed monster's mouth with alarm while I slowly take in the situation.

"What are you talking about, Yaya?" Amu said. "I only heard the part about dating! Where did you get the confession from?"

Yaya then took a deep breath and started to spout out, "Well, Suzuhara-tan told Junko-chi, who told Yuki-chan, who told Nanami-tan, who told—"

"Okay, okay," Amu said, waving her hand to signal Yaya to stop talking. "I get it, I get it. So, um, Rima…i-is it true?"

I blink again and this time the words come out shaky. "…No."

I could see the glint in Yaya's eyes. "Liar!" she sang in an annoying tone.

"Shut up!" I yelled at her. From behind me, I heard a familiar voice. "That isn't nice, Rima-chan."

Shoot. I turn around and there is Nagihiko. I can feel the breath of the crowd stop for a moment, then all eyes and mouths turn towards us. Looking at the purple-haired enemy of mine, I can still feel my cheeks feel a little warm and something tugged at me in my chest. No, not like that, you idiot.

"What makes you think that?" I growled.

"Eh, it's something you pick up over the years," he said simply. Grr, why is he so aggravating?

The unseen crowd murmured further, something about the tension or something, but I ignored them and, with that feeling still twiddling in my chest, I told Amu and Yaya to come to homeroom

~.~.~

Augh, my head hurt. There was so much going on… So many changes, so much drama. Why can't it be Amu with this drama and not me? She's like the perfect person to put as a heroine of a story or drama…

"Class, I'd like to make an announcement," Boring English Teacher said in his same old booming voice. Well, at least that didn't change from last term.

The class buzzed with anticipation, or lack thereof.

"Augh, if it's about a test, I'm going to throw myself off of the school."

"Dude, are you serious?"

Boring English Teacher cleared his throat, drawing our attention back to him. "As you may know, the cultural festival is just around the corner. So—"

"Wait, it is!" Amu said suddenly, jolting from her nap on the desk.

All of the class burst into titters and giggles as Amu turned red as a tomato. I swear Boring English Teacher twitched a little, but before I could ponder about it more, he repeated, "The cultural festival is just around the corner. So, it's time for our class to think on what we should do for the festival. Be sure to be thinking on what our class should do. I'll be waiting next week."

The rest of homeroom passed by in a blur, and soon, Sensei bounced into the classroom. "Good morning, class!" she said with so much enthusiasm, even Wimpy Nakamura twitched with the feeling of something bad is about to happen. "Did you know that the cultural festival is coming up?"

"Um, Sensei," Wimpy Nakamura said cautiously, "S-Sensei—ah! I-I mean the other sensei, um—"

"I don't need you to tell me, Nakamura-kun," Sensei cut Nakamura off, thankfully. "I do hope my class does a café! Ah, so many sweets!" She looked so far off in her own land of who-knows-what, that everybody in the class had a worried look on their face.

I raised my head and said dully, "Sensei, I believe you have to teach us something about literature?"

That did the trick. "Oh, thank you, Mashiro-san," Sensei said. "Um, well… Let's see, ahem, I believe we're on the topic of poetry, no?"

"Yes, Sensei," the class chimed.

Sensei cleared her throat again. "I'd like everybody to turn in their textbooks to turn to page 158. You'll find two haikus listed there." I followed and found myself gazing at poems by Matsuo Basho. **(1)** I remember reading some of his stuff when I was bored.

Sensei cleared her throat and read off the page, "Another year is gone/and still I wear/straw hat and straw sandal **(2)**," she looked up and smiled. "Can anyone tell me the meaning of this haiku?"

Amu raised her hand uncertainly. "The narrator is a straw dummy?" she offered to the titters of our classmates.

"Close, Hinamori-san," Sensei said, though there was a little twitch around her eye. More answers got shot up and almost instantly shot down.

"The narrator is cold!"

"The narrator has no money!"

"The narrator is a farmer!"

"I'm telling you, he is cold!"

"Class," Sensei said, "Class… Alright, you all, it's time to settle down! We'll take these guesses all one by one now, and please support your answer with a valid reason."

That sure quieted down the class. I smiled, then slowly pretended to be bored and just lazily wave my hand.

"Yes, Mashiro-san?"

"I think the narrator content with what he has," I said in a dull tone, "because, while most people get decked out on New Year's, the narrator probably doesn't have anything of that kind. However, the narrator is pretty happy with what he has so he doesn't mind at all."

A smile twitched on the corners of Sensei's mouth. "Very good, Mashiro-san," she said. "Any more guesses?"

Class whizzed by and I let myself seem bored all throughout, so much that I nearly jumped when I heard Sensei call me out. "Mashiro-san, please see me after school."

Right after Sensei left the room, Amu turned to me and hissed, "Why do you think you're going to see her? Did she see you not paying attention?"

"I-I don't know," I said honestly. "I sure hope it isn't anything bad."

~.~.~

The bell rang, signaling the end of another school day, and that also meant talking with Sensei. Now, I really respect Sensei for her lessons and the authority she holds over the dumb jocks, but having to see her after school could give anyone a reason to start shaking. So here I was, standing in front of the teacher's room. I took a deep breath and opened to door.

Standing behind a desk full of papers and textbooks—I swear there was a manga poking out of the piles of papers—was Sensei. But that wasn't all that was there. No, standing next to her, in all of his long hair, was Nagihiko. My heart dropped at the sight of him, and he stared back.

"Ah, Mashiro-san," Sensei said with a smile, not noticing the intense staring contest I was holding with Nagihiko, "you've arrived at last. Come now, over here." I inched myself over to her desk, making sure I was out of Nagihiko's eyesight while simultaneously not next to him. That proved to be practically impossible.

"Okay," Sensei said, "you both maybe be wondering why I invited the two of you together at the same time when you both could be making yourself better through clubs, no?"

"I guess you can say that," I said quickly, while in the corner of my eye I could feel Nagihiko eyeing me at the corner of his eye.

"Well," Sensei said with a smile, "allow me to explain. Both of you are very bright, the brightest students in my class, and not only are you two bright, but also very good at obeying orders. Out of the whole class, you two have the highest grades overall. So, I daresay that you have enough in Japanese literature to help me out a little."

"And by that you mean…?" Nagihiko asked. I swear, that purple giant was still trying to get a glimpse at me. Why?

Sensei continued, "I was hoping you'd ask that, Fujisaki-kun. You see, I'm probably the least organized teacher in the whole entire second year. It usually takes me weeks to relocate a paper I graded days ago. So, I need you help to help me organized a little. Student council usually should be helping me, but they hardly got enough time what with all that planning in festivals and whatnot. Besides, I don't trust those popularity-chosen brats anyways."

"And how can we do that?" I asked.

"Well, pop by my desk every day after school and I'll assign the two of you things to do. Perhaps today you can take home of your classmates' papers and help me grade a little. I'll let you borrow my rubric for this. Turn these in faster than I can, okay?" Sensei grabbed a pile of papers and shoved them into Nagihiko's hands.

"O-Okay…" Nagihiko said with a hasty smile. "C-Come along now, Rima-chan."

"I'm not a dog," I said under my breath, and stormed out of the room.

"Make sure you two do it together!" I hear Sensei's voice call out after me.

~.~.~

"So," Nagihiko said, twirling a red pen absentmindedly while frowning at a paper filled with grammar mistakes. We were in the library now, with the stack Sensei had given to us to apparently work together on and grade. "What do you think?"

"That kid should be failed," I said bluntly.

"What about this one?" Naghiko picked up another one and started to read, "Once upon a time, there lived a—"

"Fail," I said.

"What about—"

"Fail."

"I didn't even start," Nagihiko said.

"It already sounded bad," I said, "because you were reading it."

"Why can't you be nice?" Nagihiko asked with a slight frown.

"Why can't you be gone?" I spat back.

Nagihiko sighed, and then picked up the rubric Sensei had given to him to base the papers off of. "According to Sensei, an exemplary folk tale should be one with little to no mechanical errors. characters that you can relate to, a little bit of surrealism to make it seem less realistic, hints to the culture of Japan, and a lesson for everybody to learn out of."

"That's pretty high standards," I said. "I don't think my stories usually fit that standard."

"Oh come on," Nagihiko said, "I've read some of yours before. They're really good."

"When did you-" I began, then stopped. Oh, right, that time in which he took my notebook right off the ground and read it long, long ago. Man, when was that, the beginning of the year? Time flies. I remember all the past blog entries I written, the school trip, Nagihiko—

Nagihiko smiled at me just as I finished off that thought. "Don't you remember Kiyoko and the fat monk? 'Once upon a time, in the Osaka prefecture, there lived a poor hungry girl named Kiyo—"

"That was just for fun," I said.

"For something that was done for fun, it was pretty good," Nagihiko said. "I liked it when Kiyoko cheated the greedy monk of his food and money."

"Kiyoko was a brat," I said bitterly. "I hated creating her. She seemed too perfect."

"Oh, but I can see the flaws in her," Nagihiko said. "She's greedy herself, and pretty selfish, too. Shame that Kiyoko never did feed any starving villagers."

"There were none. All of them were richer than her."

"Is that so? I didn't read that part."

"It's background info. Nothing important for you to know." Actually, I never got around to thinking about the villagers at that time, but Nagihiko doesn't need to know that. I sighed. My body was screaming louder and louder the longer I sat here with Nagihiko, so I tried to make an excuse. Looking at the clock that was conveniently hanging right ahead of me, I exclaimed, "Wow, look at the time. I think I should really get going. Why don't you finish the rest for today?"

"Not so fast," Nagihiko said, turning towards me before I can get off my chair and leave. "Sensei told us that we have to work together on this. I'm not taking all of the workload. Tell you what, this Sunday why don't we meet at my house? Mother will be leading lessons that day and Auntie should be out shopping, so there's plenty of space for you and me. What do you think?"

I could've said no, screamed with all of my heart for him to get out of my face, but I was in a rush so the words that tumbled out of my mouth were, "Sure, why not. Got to go. Bye."

I rushed out of just as Nagihiko said, "I'll be on ReiNet, so you can chat with me anytime about the work."

ReiNet? Sunday? Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into? I hate you, Japanese literature.

* * *

**(1**) Apparently, Matsuo Basho is some well-known Japanese poet whose poems have been translated into many languages. Unfortunately, I haven't heard of him until I googled up Japanese poems. Ah, American schools…

**(2) **Don't start trying to tell me that it isn't five syllables, seven syllables, five again for the haiku pattern. I just retyped up a translated version of the original romanji one I found online. If you want the romanji, then here it is:

_Toshi kurenu__  
__Kasa kite waraji__  
__Hakinagara_

**Hey guys! I'm really sorry for the long wait, but procrastination is evil and I had NaNoWriMo last month! Thankfully, forcing myself to write a novel definitely helped in the last part of this chapter. I feel no laziness or writer's block right now, and the plot moved forward quite a bit this chapter so I'm pretty happy. Yay for no fillers!**

**Finished this in Canada, so to all of my Canadian readers, hey! (Don't worry, I appreciate all of my readers equally) Please drop a review! Thank you reading another chapter! Next chapter should hopefully pop up soon!**


	15. The Fujisaki House of Terror

**Chapter 15: The Fujisaki House of Terror**

* * *

It's not pleasant when you fall asleep one night and wake up floating in total blackness. Even worse when you're only wearing a white gown that billows out like a ghost and some strange wreath shoved on your head.

"Rima-chan…" A familiar voice whispered in my head. "Rima-chan…"

"Who's there?" I wanted to say that, but all that came out of my mouth was a puff of air. Okay, that's not creepy at all.

"Rima-chan…" The wind blew and the wreath on my head blew, pulling blue and pink petals from them and going down towards wherever this abyss ends. "Rima-chan…" Okay, this is seriously starting to scare me. I wanted run, to hide, anything but just stand here, however I was glued to the air like, well, glue. Suddenly, I heard footsteps come up from behind me—even though there's nothing to walk on, but whatever—and a flutter of more petals as fingers brushed through my hair. I'm surprised they didn't get stuck yet. "Rima-chan, you're so lovely…I—"

_Bee-Beep! Bee-Beep! Bee-Beep!_

I groaned and nearly fell out of bed as I tried to roll over. The morning sun glared happily into my face like it was trying to blind me and I glared back angrily. Gosh, the sun is just like Nagihiko's annoying smile. Wait a minute. That voice in that dream did sound familiar…too familiar. Almost like…Nagihiko's. Oh, gosh no! I did not just dream that!

"Rima-chan!"

Shoot, that's Mom.

"Rima-chan! You better get out of bed! Don't you have to go to that Fujisaki boy's house today?"

I immediately shot out of my bed. Shoot. I do? Oh, shoot, shoot, shoot! That's the worst thing I've ever heard in my life!

"Rima-chan! I'm pretty sure you have better things to do than stay in bed all day with your bear!"

I groaned and finally turned off my annoying alarm clock. After shouting back to Mom that I'll be down and in a few, I climbed out of bed. Ignoring the nest I created, I ran towards the bathroom and looked at my hair. Great, like somebody just stuffed that wreath with whatever on me and then pulled it right out. Random strands of blondness shot out of my head and stood sideways and crooked. The battle this time ended up breaking the brush in all of the frustrations. Thankfully the brush wasn't stuck in it all day and my hair looked semi-tamed. But there were still a few clumps of hair flipping up and making me look ridiculous. The brush was broken in half, so I couldn't go and brush it again. Finally, after another battle, I squeezed a hair elastic onto my hair to hold it up in the biggest ponytail I have ever seen. The weight of the thing was ridiculous, but it was the best I could do. Besides, it was just Nagihiko seeing me, so it wasn't a big deal, right?

After doing some more proper hygiene stuff, I stumbled to my closet and rummaged through my clothes. In the end, I collected up a cropped denim jacket and a pair of comfortable jeans. The only thing left was a shirt to put under. I jumbled through the entire closet, but came up empty handed. Shoot, guess Mom didn't have time to do the laundry yet. Finally, I came up with a shirt. It was the tank top that Amu and Yaya bought me a long time ago, way back in spring. Wait, that was seriously that long ago? Man, time flies… Well, I'm running out of shirts, so it's either this or another option that I'd rather not go to.

I rushed down the stairs in my get up of the day. The moment I settled down at the table, Dad commented from over his paper, "Well, don't you look nice today? Trying to impress somebody?"

"Dad!" I yelled. "I just ran out of shirts. It's nothing like that!"

Mom placed down some toast and eggs in front of me and said, "Sorry about that, Rima-chan."

I grumbled as I ate my breakfast. Dad shuffled his papers again and said, "You're going to that Fujisaki boy's house today, right?"

I groaned, "Yes, Dad."

"No funny business over there," he said with a smile.

"Dad!" I said. "We're only grading papers for our teacher. It's nothing special."

I heard a snort from behind the newspaper. "Sure, Rima-chan, whatever you say."

~.~.~

I managed to get out of my house before my parents could make me feel anymore embarrassed. Thank goodness that I don't live with anybody else, or they'll be snickering right behind me.

Last night Nagihiko gave me the address for his house on ReiNet. I know, it's a pretty stupid idea to send your address over the Internet, but there was no other way. I avoided seeing him all throughout school, because if we were seen again it would only erupt into more rumors and whisperers. I'm getting real tired of all the buzz about him and me. Some days I just want to rip apart those people talking about us and silence them once and for all. But I can't, because I have a reputation to keep.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to look up the address on the Internet, but I knew where the general area was. Pretty soon, I was pretty much stuck at this strange neighborhood with a bunch of random houses. All of them seemed a bit more on the traditional Japanese style of architecture. Well, what do you expect from the Fujisakis? All Fujisakis must live in traditional Japanese style houses, where they frolicked—I mean, glided—around in silk kimonos.

Okay, that was a horrifying image of Nagihiko gliding across the hall in a kimono. Erasing that from my head…

Anyways, what was the number…? I looked at the paper. Hold on a minute, I'm on a completely different street! And why do all the houses look practically alike? Ugh, why can't Nagihiko just live in a normal house? Or, better yet, a cardboard box!

"Excuse, young lady…" I whirled around to find an old man in a brown kimono. Well, looks like I'm still in the right area. Old Man keeps on talking in his slow, creaky voice. "You look a little lost, dear."

"Um, yeah," I said. "I mean, yes, sir. I'm trying to get to a friend of mine's house. Do you know where this address is?" I hand him the paper. Immediately, he sucks in a big breath of air, but with him it comes in very slowly.

"My, my, that's a very rich area you're venturing into," he said. "You friends with a millionaire?" He wheezes up a fit of laughter, but it sounds more like coughing rather than chuckles.

"No, just a school…acquaintance," I said hastily. "Please, sir, can you show me the way?"

"Absolutely, young lady," he said. "Just keep on walking down this street and take a right at the next intersection. Keep on walking until you see the biggest house. You understand that?"

Take a right and find a big house. Easy enough for me. I nod to the old man, and he smiles a nearly-toothless smile. Gross… "I'm glad I could help," he said.

I did a quick bow out of politeness and said, "Thank you very much." Then I dashed off. Japanese house, Japanese house, Japanese house—was that a bamboo-hitting-the-water sound I just heard?—Intersection! Yes! I take a right down that street and continue down. The houses start to get bigger and bigger, more Fujisaki-like. Yep, I'm the right street. I nearly collide headfirst into a fence.

Ouch… Whoa, that's definitely Nagihiko's house. If the houses before were big, then this house was a giant. A huge traditional gate with large wooden doors rose ahead of me. I had to crane my puny head as high as I could without falling over—didn't help I had a large ponytail on my head—to see the traditional style roof. Now _this_ is Nagihiko's house, gliding down in kimonos all the way.

I looked back down to meet face to face with a doorbell, complete with a speaker and a button for I guess a doorbell. I press a shaky finger against it.

_Bzzzzztttt…_

"Hello?"

"H-Hi," I said. "I-I'm here because for a project with Nagihiko. I'm Mashiro Rima."

"Oh! Young master's friend! I'll be right down!"

_Click!_

Young master? Friend? What on earth was Nagihiko feeding to his relatives?

The big doors creaked open, startling me and nearly sending me up thirty centimeters up and even farther back. An old lady poked her gray head out of the door. "Excuse me?" she said.

"H-Hello," I said, bowing as far as I could without having the weight of my ponytail make me fall over.

"Oh, no need for the politeness," the old lady said. "I'm only the housekeeper. Let me show you inside."

I step inside and in front of me is a large Japanese style house, like the kind you see on TV. The old lady was wearing an olive green kimono. I felt like I stepped back a couple thousand years. "Come, come," she said, leading me into the house. The floors were well-polished and the old lady, even if she was only supposedly the housekeeper, seriously glided down them. I only clumsily slid down them in my socks. Okay, maybe this house is too polished for my socks.

We come to a stop—mine a little too slippery for a stop—in front of a pair of doors. The old lady knocks softly on them, and said, "Young master? Your friend is here to study."

The door opened, and there in a somewhat comfortable-looking sweater and jeans, appears Nagihiko. He glanced over at me, and then even more quickly replied back to the old lady, "Thank you, Auntie. You may leave now."

The old lady glides away, leaving me alone in the hallway with Nagihiko standing in front of me. This is not comfortable. Nagihiko motioned to me to come in. "Come in, Rima-chan," he said. With nowhere else to go, I follow him inside. Compared to all the traditional Japanese stuff of the outside, Nagihiko's room was a refreshing change. The walls of his room were mostly bare, but there were a few random posters of enka singers strewn across the walls here and there. A bookshelf filled with what appeared to be boring stuff was shoved into a corner, and a bed with a navy blue blanket neatly folded on it was near the shelf. A desk was pushed by a window, where a laptop glowed with life on top of it.

"It isn't much," Nagihiko said quickly, "But that isn't the point." He walked over to the desk and picked up the papers we haven't graded yet. "Do you want to sit on the floor?"

"Sure, whatever," I said. I take a seat by the bookshelf, and Nagihiko sits opposite of me with a few pens in his hand. He takes a paper up in his hand, but he pauses to take a look at me. "What?" I asked sharply.

"That ponytail looks a bit heavy," Nagihiko said simply.

"So what?" I said. "I can do whatever I want."

"But," Nagihiko said, "It looks a bit hazardous. I'm surprised you haven't tripped and fell yet."

"Shut up and start grading," I grumbled. Nagihiko shrugged to himself and returned to the paper in front of him. I quickly took the elastic off once I knew he was busy with whatever story that student he was reading about came up with. Gosh, that felt so much better. I shook my blond mane loose and grabbed a paper. The name Ito Izumi was printed on it in sloppy kanji. Hey, how long ago did I talk to her, Akane, and Yuki? Well, they're all in a different class, so it's kind of hard to talk to them. I shrugged and started to read. Izumi wrote about a samurai who fought onis. Kind of boring at first, but then he was to be granted a wish from the gods. The samurai chose to have strength, just like any other manly men in the world would've chosen for. Stupid samurai.

"Is something the matter, Rima-chan?"

I peered up from the story to see Nagihiko looking back at me. I give him a glare. "It's fine."

"How's the story so far?" Nagihiko continued to be persistent.

"Fine."

"Can you tell me what's the story so far?"

I told him what I read so far, and he smiled. "Ah, Izumi-chan's. I believe I helped her out with the sticky bits of the story."

"Oh," I said. "So I guess it's an easy A for Izumi then."

"Why do you say that?" Nagihiko asked, apparently puzzled.

"Because you helped her," I said.

Nagihiko pressed his lips together. "I don't think that's a good answer for an A, Rima-chan."

"It is," I said.

"Why?" Nagihiko said. Oh gosh, this guy is annoying.

"Because you helped her," I repeated back at his face.

"That isn't a good answer, Rima-chan."

I glared at Nagihiko, then turned back to the story. The samurai took out everything in his way, but by accident he destroyed his house and family with his strength. The gods scolded him for doing that and now he has to use his strength to hold the sky or whatever. I frowned, and quickly wrote a comment about Greek mythology in the corner. Then I marked good marks.

And that was how the grading went down. Nagihiko and I graded in an eerie silence. After that conversation, Nagihiko didn't seem to want to talk to me again. That was good for me, though. Less annoyance. These stories by itself were annoying me with constant plot holes and whatnot. Suddenly, I felt a feeling in my stomach area telling me that nature was calling. I looked up at Nagihiko. "Hey…" I said. "Do you know where your bathroom is…?"

Nagihiko looked up from his story. "Hm? Oh, it's just down the hallway. Do you want me to show-"

"No," I said before he could finish that sentence. "I can manage." I jumped up and dashed out of the hallway, nearly slipping in the process. Thank goodness for balance. So, it's just down the hallway…but, left or right? Darn it, maybe I should've asked for more specific directions. Or if that old man I met on the streets gave me the directions instead. He gives better directions then Nagihiko ever will. I take another turn down another hallway only nearly crash into the housekeeper.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, quickly bowing.

"Um, it's fine…" I said. "Excuse me, but do you know where the bathroom is?"

"Bathroom?" she said, and I nodded. "Oh, the nearest one is just down the hall, last door down there. Let me take you!"

"Um, I'm fine," I declined, but she still trailed behind me. She seemed so polite, I couldn't really shake her off like I would shake Nagihiko off, so I just let her be. When I finished with my business, she was still there. "Um, you can leave…" I said slowly.

She blinked as if I asked her the dumbest question ever. "Oh, I thought it'd be best if I escorted you back to the young master's room. You looked really lost, so I thought it'd be a good idea…"

"I-I'm not-" I started to say, but I stopped. The old lady was being kind, and I was really lost. I don't even know what part of this huge house I am. For all I knew, I was on the other side of the house. I took a breath and said, "Sure, why not."

And so the housekeeper led me back to Nagihiko's pit of hell—er, I meant, his room. Right, his room. I knocked cautiously, but there was no answer. The housekeeper turned to me and said, "Young master is probably out looking for you. He is really caring. You should just wait for him to return." So she let me in and shut me in his room.

This is not creepy at all.

The papers by the bookshelf were in a neat pile with the pens on top of it. Of course, perfect Nagihiko would not let a mess get by him before he leaves the room. That's him, perfect and a neat freak. I could just plop by them and wait patiently for him, but if you're locked in the room of the person you hate, you could do some snooping. Maybe I can find something to blackmail him with. A perfect person always has a skeleton in his closet. Figuratively speaking, of course, though an actual skeleton in his closet would be amusing!

I took a quick scan. Everything was in good condition, but that's a good cover for anything. I checked under the bed. Nothing, not even a dust bunny. I looked around the bookshelf. Nothing except for a few random novels about things like wizards or something. Not even one vampire story, shoot. That would've been an awesome blackmail. Imagine Nagihiko reading about sparkling vampires. Best. Image. Ever.

I came to a stop at the desk. It was relatively neat, with a few books pushed up with the world's most boring bookends ever. That only left the laptop. It was a shiny one, probably a Windows one by the looks of it. Well, each to his own I guess. A mouse was attached to it, so I shook it around to make it come to life. Nagihiko's wallpaper was a cherry blossom tree. Blah, that's boring. Is he really that boring? Gosh, I have more interesting things in my room than he does!

Suddenly, something near the start menu caught my eye. It was a window to the Internet, and on it was a familiar looking title:

_ReiNet_

Nagihiko was on reinet .com? Well, why the heck would he be on there? I grinned as evil thoughts filled my head. Oh, he was so going to regret this…

I opened the window, and the familiar page of my website greeted me. It was open to the chat section, with the list open up. Though what surprised me was the emptiness of the chat list. There was only Rei. No Amu, no Yaya, not even my name on there. Just…well, my other name. Wouldn't popular Nagihiko at least have his basketball buddies names on there? I know that stupid jocks got accounts on here only because of their girlfriends or something, but still. What's with Nagihiko? Did he go on a rabid delete spree or what? This is not him…

Then my eyes wandered up to the top, where the username would usually be displayed in the corner. I stopped the moment I saw it.

_Welcome, BluePinkFlowers!_

BluePinkFlowers? As in, _the_ BluePinkFlowers? The BluePinkFlowers who gave me those nice comments? The BluePinkFlowers who I chatted with often? The BluePinkFlowers who gave me advice when I needed to? The BluePinkFlowers that I actually _trusted_? Th-This can't be…

I heard a door slide open and footsteps as Nagihiko came in. "Oh, there you are, Rima-chan," he said nonchalantly. "I've been looking all over for you. I'm sorry that I couldn't give you proper directions to the bathroom, but…" There was a momentary pause. "Rima-chan, what are you doing?"

I whirled around. Yep, that's Nagihiko, looking curious on what I was doing. Oh, boy… "I-It's nothing!" I snapped. Shoot, I've gotten trapped. He knew I was on the computer, and the ReiNet site was still on the screen. I got to make an excuse, like I have no idea who BluePinkFlowers is.

"Um, I was…I didn't know that…" I stammered. I felt like an idiot there, stammering like any other girl. Toughen up! "I really got to go. Can you do the rest for me? Thanks, bye!" I dashed out of his room before any reply came from him, and nearly collided with the housekeeper.

"Oh my!" she said. She could've stumbled like any other person, but since she's a Fujisaki, she just took a step back only to regain her balance.

I didn't have any time to think. I got to get out of here before Nagihiko finds out. "Hey," I said quickly to the housekeeper, "Um, can you show me to the door? I realized I got a very important appointment to make and I have to leave. Also, can you show me how to get back to my house from here?"

Any other regular person would've thought this as very suspicious, but she didn't pay it any attention. "Absolutely!" she said, and in no time I was out of the house and on my way back home.

Phew, that was a close one. One second there, I could've sworn I was close to blowing my cover…

Wait, what am I thinking? Nagihiko wouldn't know, right? It isn't that obvious. I make it a point to disguise people's names and stuff, so there's no way he could tell. I mean, I didn't say outright that I knew who BluePinkFlowers was, so he has no clue. So what was I worrying about. I got nothing to worry about.

Right?

* * *

**And….WE'RE DONE! ...For now.**

**Hurrah! I finished another chapter for Ask Rei! Internet hugs to everybody! But wait, it isn't over? Just sit back and wait, my little readers!**

**Sorry again for the wait, it's been how long since I've updated? Thanksgiving? Well, merry belated Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Holidays to everybody! And a happy New Year, too! I forgot to mention it last chapter, but it's been a year since I posted Ask Rei on here (since November…), so…HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ASK REI! :D It's been a year of blogs, chat script, and Rima ranting all over the place! And may more come! And may this not take me another year to write the rest!**

**Big thanks to all the reviews I received while I was MIA trying to write this! And don't forget to review this chapter! See you soon (hopefully)!**


	16. Secrets Don't Make Friends

**Chapter 16: Secrets Don't Make Friends**

* * *

The moment I saw my normal-looking house—and not another Japanese-style house—I dashed through the front door, slamming the door in the process.

"Rima-chan?" I heard Mom call from the living room. "Is that you? You're back so soon?"

"Y-Yeah," I said. Shoot, how am I going to explain this? "Nagihiko had some…um…dance practice to attend. Yeah, and I didn't have much to do, but, um, yeah…" I quickly added before Mom could process all of that: "I'll be up in my room if you need me."

I climbed up the stairs and walked to my room like any normal human being. The moment I entered my room, though, I raced to grab my laptop. Almost dropped it a few time in the process, but I got quick hands. After a quick loading from the computer's side, I logged on to reinet .com. Ignoring the gigantic wall of messages, I set out to type a blog.

_Date: Sunday; September 27th, 10:58 PM_

_Mood: Panicked_

_Title: Oh. My. Gosh._

_Guys, something big just happened. And I'm not talking about hackers or stalkers._

_Okay, let me just back up for a moment._

_I went to NF's house. Ew, not for those reasons, but because my teacher made us do a project together and it's all NF's fault to think that doing it at his house is the most perfect thing ever. Gag me. (Actually, don't.) Anyways, I needed to do some business and NF's house is like a small country, so I got lost. But that's not the point. Okay…well, once I got back NF was gone so I decided to snoop around for a bit. Good idea, right? Well, let's just say I found something really shocking about him there. Not going to say much, but it blew my mind. In a bad way. Now I'm scared on what could happen._

_That's all I'm going to say. See you guys later._

I sent the blog to the web and sighed. Good, I got that out of my system. I sighed and almost logged out of my computer when I caught sight of a chat request.

_BluePinkFlowers_

Annoyance sprang up in me and I immediately went and clicked on the message. The familiar message popped up, asking me if I wanted to chat with BluePinkFlowers. I hit the no button and I watched as the message disappeared from my inbox.

There. That'll do. Right?

Right?

~.~.~

"Okay," Boring English Teacher boomed from the front of the room. I was back in school and in homeroom, listening to Boring English Teacher drone on about the cultural festival. Sounded like fun, but with Boring English Teacher, he makes everything…well, boring.

"The festival is a time for classes to show off their skills and teamwork," I heard Boring English Teacher say. "It'll show students and visitors alike how well each class meshes together and what they are like. Our class' activity will be something that reflects who we are and what we are made of."

I saw Amu slip a note to me. Glancing back up at the lecturing Boring English Teacher, I picked up the carefully folded up tiny square and unfolded it. Scratched into it with pencil, sat the words:

_I sure hope we don't do a café. They're so cliché._

I looked back at the note before catching Amu's eye. Casually, I nodded. Cafes are cliché. They've been so overdone…

"Any suggestions?" Boring English Teacher finally finished his long speech to finally pop the question the whole room was asking while he was talking.

Naturally, a bold hand from the front came up. "I think we should do a maid café," the bold hand spoke.

I gave Amu a "What did I tell you?" look just as a girl complained, "Ewww… No…I'm not getting into a dress for you to check me out in!"

"Yeah, ew," another girly voice spoke up.

"Then we should do a play!"

"But I heard Class D was doing a play! I don't want to be ripping off that class!"

"Then, um, a haunted house?"

"I did a haunted house last year! I'm not going back to standing in a corner with a jelly on a stick!"

And that's how it carried on. Some idiot suggests a cliché idea and then somebody who has their head screwed on right objects it. What bothered me the most was all the suggestions about cafes. Whoever came up with the idea for cafes in school festivals is going to hear from me. Finally, I slipped a note to Amu complaining, and she raised her hand.

"Um," she said, "uh, I think we should, um…do a…er…a stuffed animal booth."

The air in the room grew dead silent as Amu's words made sense to our ears…sort of. "And what do you mean by that, Hinamori-san?" Boring English Teacher asked.

I could see how scared Amu was, trembling in her plaid leg warmers and her face nearly shooting to a new shade of red that clashed quite well with her hair. "Um, what I mean is…um…" she stammered and stumbled. I nearly slapped myself. Thankfully, I had enough sanity to raise my hand.

"Sensei," I said, "what Amu is trying to say here is that our class should hold a stuffed animal booth." Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. Shoot, how am I supposed to get out of this one? "We could…make our own and…sell them in our classroom."

"Make stuffed animals?" a boy in the front said with a look of uncertainty. Well, if I wasn't in the back, I would strangle that boy. Anything but a café, please.

Fortunately, a girl also in the front spoke up. "That's sounds so cute and original, Mashiro-san! I'd like that!"

"Oh!" another girl piped up from the other end of the classroom. "We can all be in aprons and wear ears and tails! Oh my gosh, that sounds so cute!"

The room filled with numerous squeals and giggles from the girls, leaving the boys skeptical. I had to bite my cheek to resist the temptation to laugh and lose my cool. The girls kept on agreeing and agreeing, much to the boys' dismay.

"Dude, I don't want to be part of making stuffed animals! I'm a man, for crying out loud."

"Yeah, sure, you're about as much as a man as my little sister is."

"Hey!"

"I agree with Yamato. Making stuffed animals is too girly for me."

"Oh, and you were the one who was bent on seeing me and the other girls in maid outfits."

"That's different!"

"And that's why I think we should do a stuffed animal booth!"

"Class, class!" Boring English Teacher boomed over my classmates. Almost immediately the class grew dead silent at the sound of Boring English Teacher's loud but monotone voice. "It seems as if we have quite a few good ideas, so now we should vote upon them. And only once, I might add." A groan from the boys echoed in the room as Boring English Teacher took up a piece of chalk and proceeded to chalk up the options, and then proceeded to read them out one by one, pausing to have us get a chance to raise our hands. There were several different cafes, ranging from traditional Japanese to the typical maid café. So most of the boys were divided among the cafes while, well, you know what happened if you were paying attention.

"Alright," Boring English Teacher said. "We're going to be doing a stuffed animal booth."

~.~.~

"A stuffed animal booth?"

Yaya slapped her hands on the desk, nearly toppling over her bento and bread. Yes, it was lunchtime and Amu had just told Yaya what we're going to be doing.

Amu nodded to the pigtailed eighth grader. "Yep," she said happily. "And it's all Rima's idea!" She picked up a rice ball from her lunch box and bit into it with enthusiasm.

"Actually," I said calmly, biting into a spring roll Mom had made for me. The bento had kept it warm, so steam was rising out of it, making whimsical spirals in the air before disappearing, "all I did was say that I'm sick and tired of maid cafes and somebody should suggest something different. It was your idea for the stuffed animals."

"Same difference!" Amu said, brushing it off with a wave of her hand. She turned to Yaya and started to spout all her enthusiasm on her. "Sensei is letting us sew our own. It's going to be a major pain, but they're going to turn out really cute because we got people like Sayaka making them. And we're going to dress up in aprons and ears and tails and it's going to be so cute! Uh, I mean, yeah, whatever…"

Yaya stifled a giggle at Amu's attempt at keeping her cool before saying, "That sounds really cute, Amu-chi, but Yaya's class is probably better!"

"Oh, really?" I questioned with a small smirk.

Yaya nodded proudly, as if she decided it. "Yaya's class is doing a haunted house!"

Both Amu and I nearly choked on our rice ball and spring roll, respectively. "You're kidding!" Amu said.

"Nope!" Yaya said happily.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I asked.

Yaya's proud moment popped for the moment as she turned to me with a questioning look glued on her face. "What are you saying, Rima-tan?" she asked.

"I'm saying that I'm worried for you," I said.

"What does Rima-tan mean by that?"

"Rima is saying," Amu said, giggling. "Rima is saying that you might be getting scared more than anybody else."

Yaya's cheeks grew pink while she screamed at us. "That's not nice! Yaya is very, very, very brave! And Yaya's classmate is a good seamstress so Yaya will have the scariest costume ever!"

"Don't get scared of your own reflection…" I said. Yaya pouted and made her typical angry face. Girl cannot take a joke… All of a sudden Yaya's face lit up like a Christmas tree and waved her hands as if to motion something over. "Yuki-chi! Akane-tan! Izumi-tan! Over here!"

Amu and I turned around and, sure enough, there was Izumi in her ponytail, Akane with her reddish hair held back by a headband, and Yuki and her short hair coming towards us. It's been a while since I talked to the three—since summer break actually. Though it seemed like Yaya had been keeping up with them, despite the fact that she didn't go on a class trip that ended up being a disaster with them, but that's not the point. Anyways, I guess it's a little bit of a shock to see them in our school uniform, what with the last I saw them in yukatas or shorts and T-shirts. Their personality seemed to show through their uniform. For example, Izumi's jacket was unbuttoned while Akane's wasn't and Yuki opted for the comfortable sweater.

Izumi grinned as she came over to us, "Hey! Long time no see, Rima! How have you been?"

"Fine, Izumi," I replied. "Yaya was just going on about her class doing a haunted house for the festival."

Izumi's eyes literally lit up with glee at the sound of festival. "Oh my gosh, I can't wait for the festival! We're going to be doing something really cool! Right, Akane?"

"Actually, Izumi-chan," Akane said. "I don't think-"

"What Akane-chan and Izumi-chan mean," Yuki said in a flat tone, "is that they're doing a café."

"A café?" I said before I could even think.

"Hey!" Izumi said. "It's not going to be a maid café. Sensei wants us on a low budget, so we're not doing any maid outfits. Besides, we got Fujisaki with us, so we're bound to drag a crowd in!"

Yaya looked somewhat angry. Perhaps she didn't want to lose to upperclassmen in terms of who has the best event for the culture festival. "Well," Yaya said proudly, puffing her chest out a little, "Yaya's classmate makes really good clothes, so Yaya's class is also going to get a big crowd!"

Ignoring the argument that was about to ensue in front of her, Amu turned to Yuki and asked, "They're doing a cafe? What about you? Aren't you in the same class as them?"

Yuki nodded. "However, I'm part of the anime research club, so we'll be doing a separate event."

"Oh?" Amu said. "What?"

"We'll be showcasing various outfits that are often used in Japanese culture." Amu stared blankly as Yuki continued on, "We're going to make the costumes themselves, so I got sketches in my notebook of what we're going to make: geishas, shrine maidens, maids, Gothic lolitas, sweet lolitas…"

"Th-that sounds really nice," Amu cut Yuki off before she could go any further. "I think I might stop by when it's not my shift."

"By the way, what are you and Mashiro-chan going to be doing for the festival?" Yuki asked. Akane leaned in to hear and even Izumi stopped arguing with Yaya about whose class was better to listen.

"Oh!" Amu said, brightening up. "Rima and I are going to be doing a stuffed animal booth!"

"A stuffed animal booth?" Izumi said.

"Yeah! It's going to be really cute!" Amu said. "I-I mean, um, like I care…"

Izumi raised an eyebrow at Amu's shift in opinion, but paid no attention to it. "Well, I'll make sure I'll stop by. What about you, Akane?"

"It sounds really cute," Akane said.

"I think I might also come by…" Yuki said.

"Well, then!" Izumi grinned. "We'll all stop by as long as you stop by ours!"

Amu, Yaya, and I nodded our head in agreement. It sounded good. I mean, there's going to be some good food and Yuki's sounded…interesting. Then, reality slowly sank in. Wait…Nagihiko might be there… Well, as long as he's not on his shift, I don't have to worry. Right?

~.~.~

The rest of the day passed, and I was back at my house. I finished up my homework awhile ago, so I checked up on Rei. Answering a few more questions, I was about to log off when I noticed a new message. If it was BluePinkFlowers again, I knew what to do: do not even look at it, just delete the message like he's just another stalker. But no, it was a different name.

_RhythmBoy_

So he decided to use his real account. Well, that won't stop me from not talking to him. I moved for the delete button when something hit me. Wait, Nagihiko doesn't know I'm Rei, so if I decline, then he might get suspicious and—Oh my gosh, no! I bit my lip in concentration. I don't want to talk to him, but I also don't want suspicion. Oh, what are the chances of him finding out? I clicked delete and opened a new tab to find some music to listen to.

_Pop!_

A new message already? I stopped midway through looking through some Korean singers singing in Japanese to look back at reinet .com.

_RhythmBoy_

Seriously? Can't he take a hint? I clicked no, but another message popped up again. And again, and again, and again. I was getting really annoyed at him. Just take a freaking hint already! I sighed. Well, if the guy wants a conversation, I'll give it to him.

_Rei: Hello there._

_RhythmBoy: Oh, hi there! I was getting really worried that you won't talk to me._

_Rei: Well, I always make sure to talk to everybody on here. Long as they aren't creepy stalkers._

_RhythmBoy: So I take it that you thought I was a stalker._

_Rei: You? No way! I was just tired. Forgive me._

_RhythmBoy: Oh, I'm fine! I'm fine! I'm just trying to lighten up the conversation!_

_Rei: Why lighten it up? I think the atmosphere is fine._

_RhythmBoy: Oh really?_

_Rei: Really_

_RhythmBoy: Well, I'll trust you on that._

_RhythmBoy: How's you day so far?_

_Rei: Ugh, bothersome_

_RhythmBoy: Did you see NF by any chance? _

I nearly typed down an angry complaint, when something hit me. Why did this conversation seem so…familiar. Like…with BluePinkFlowers. I mean, that's also Nagihiko, but was I slipping back into that regular pattern. …Ugh, BluePinkFlowers or not, he's still annoying Nagihiko. I got to get this over with fast. Um…what did I do today?

_Rei: No_

_Rei: But my school is doing a festival_

_RhythmBoy: Oh? That sounds fun._

_Rei: Yeah, it is. But if it weren't for me and my friend, we would've done a café._

_RhythmBoy: But cafes sound so fun_

_Rei: It is, but if you know the boys in my class, then you wouldn't want to either._

Argh, what am I saying? Of course Nagihiko knows this, but he doesn't know that I know he knows. I hurriedly typed up the next message in hopes of leaving.

_Rei: Listen, I think I gotta go._

_RhythmBoy: But we were having such a nice conversation._

_RhythmBoy: Besides, I have something to admit._

_Rei: Look, that sounds nice, but I'm not in the mood to give advice._

_RhythmBoy: But I don't need advice._

_Rei: What are you talking about? I'm really busy so I got to really go._

_RhythmBoy: Really? With what? Japanese homework?_

_Rei: No_

_RhythmBoy: Hey, the other day I was with a schoolmate of mine and we were reading stories made up by our classmates._

_RhytymBoy: I read this story about a lying monk, it was really good._

_Rei: That sounds really nice but I seriously have to leave_

_RhythmBoy: Then why aren't you logging out?_

_Rei: I always wait for the person's reply of bye before leaving._

_Rei: It's called manners._

_Rei: So, bye._

_RhythmBoy: I don't want to stop talking though_

_Rei: Look, do you want to get your account shut down? Because I can do that_

_RhythmBoy: Not that's called abuse, Rei._

_RhythmBoy: Or, should I say, Rima_

That last message made me stop typing. H-How? How did he figure it out. As if reading my mind, Nagihiko's next message said:

_RhythmBoy: You really think I'm that dumb? Tsk, tsk, Rima-chan_

_RhythmBoy: A-chan, Y-chan, NF, not to mention those events in your blog that sound so much like your life, Rima._

_Rei: I don't know what you're talking about. Who's this Rima?_

_RhythmBoy: Don't even try to deny it, Rima-chan. Haven't you learned that lying is terrible? And I thought the girl who wrote about the cheating monk knew better._

_RhythmBoy: I got to go. Bye._

The familiar beep of the computer echoed as Nagihiko finally signed off. I stared at the conversation blankly. Did that seriously just happen? Did Nagihiko seriously find out my biggest secret ever? O-Oh my gosh. Stunned silence was only broken by the steady hum of my computer while Nagihiko's last words glowed brightly on them.

* * *

**DUN-DUN-DUN. So Nagihiko now knows Rima's Rei, what's our dear blonde going to do now? And what is this culture festival they speak of? Who knows? And also, let's welcome back the OCs from a while ago: Izumi, Akane, and Yuki! Hopefully, you haven't forgotten about them already. If you did, then, go back to about Chapter 9 or something (aka: school field trip).**

**Sorry for the wait again. Life is really cruel and all that jazz. Speaking of the world outside of my computer, happy belated Valentine's Day/Singles Awareness Day/Pan-Universal Be Who You Are Day! Hope everybody ate chocolate last week! And if you happen to have diabetes, I hope you got lots of hugs or any other alternative that day!**

**Oh, and a Very Special Announcement to My Readers! Guess how many chapters I have left? Not five, not four, not three, not even two! ONE CHAPTER! That's right, Ask Rei is ending. Let's all bow our heads and remember the past year that Ask Rei has experienced. All the good reviews…all the Rima spasms…well, save it for next chapter! The ultimate climax to the (sort-of) epic story! What's going to happen? Well, considering what just happened this chapter…find out next time!**

**Thank you for reading! Hope the Americans have a nice President's Day! And happy Monday to everybody else! Reviews?**


	17. Culture Festival to End All Festivals

**Chapter 17: Culture Festival to End All Culture Festivals**

* * *

"Oh, come on, Rima! It'll look so cute!"

"Uh-uh, no way," I said, backing away from Amu. It was already time—culture festival day—the day everybody was waiting for, and it was only at least an hour before the whole shindig actually started. Due to the low budget that the school put on us all, my class decided long ago that it was best to go simple yet colorful. Whatever that means. Anyways, so everybody decided on pastel pants and shirts – something the boys were disappointed in, because, after all, they wanted to see us girls in dresses – and of course, fuzzy animal appendages to put on us all. Amu was wearing a pink shirt over blue pants with matching blue cat ears and tail and apron. I on the other hand was given a slightly-larger-than-I-needed light green shirt and brown pants with a darker green apron. Amu was holding a green headband with brown antlers, something that she wanted to see me wear. Knowing me, I objected.

"Please, Rima?" Amu asked.

"No way," I said.

"Come on, Rima," Amu whined. "We only have an hour until the festival starts! Please?"

"The only thing I'm worried about is my balance," I said.

"Please…?" Amu looked at me with these big eyes, probably more suitable for the antlers than the cat stuff she was wearing. Amu and I's little…conversation was drawing a little crowd, filled with big-eyed classmates with ears like bunnies and cats and other animals that we managed to collect through shops and sewing. I took one look at the crowd and sighed. I don't want to lose my cool, so I shrugged and mumbled a short "Fine…"

Amu squealed and hugged me as if I just told her she won a billion yen instead of saying yes to a pair of antlers. Amu plopped the headband straight onto my hair, removing my old black one of course, and I swear my head tilted a little more forward. Of course, there was no turning back now.

"All right," Amu said. "I'm on the first shift. How about you, Rima?"

"Same," I said, slowly trying to adjust the antlers to a perfect balance. "Remind me why I have to wear this?"

"Because," Amu said, crossing her arms, "there was only this left. Practically everything else was gone by the time I remembered to grab one for you. Besides, it's pretty cute!"

"Cute, my foot…" I mumbled under my breath.

Amu sighed. "Rima, just put up with it. Without you, we would be doing a maid café with the boys staring at us for all the wrong reasons. Do you want antlers or boy staring?"

"Fine, fine," I replied, then mumbled, "I can't wait until this is all done…"

"Oh, relax, Rima," Amu said, putting a hand of comfort on my shoulder. "Come on, I think we should help out with the stuffed animals." Amu took me by the hand and led me to the necessary things I had to carry out: stuffed animals. By some miracle, we managed to make decent stuffed animals out of some fabric and puffs of cotton and beans. There were all kinds of weird animals: from the regulars like dogs, cats, bunnies, and bears to some strange ones like fish and deer. They all came in different colors and patters, but all had the same black button eyes sewed on to them. As I was putting down the last of my pile into a sort-of neat pile or row or whatever it was supposed to be for display outside, I heard an all-too familiar squeal.

"It's so cute!"

Yaya's arms wrapped them around my neck and proceeded to choke me. Fortunately, I swung around and chopped her just before my breath was lost to the pigtailed girl.

"Owie…Rima-tan is mean…" Yaya said, clutching her head in fake pain.

I ignored her comment and looked Yaya up and down. I raised my eyebrows. "I'm surprised you haven't screamed at your reflection yet," I said. Yaya pouted at my comment, but still spun around to show it off. She was wearing a shrine maiden's outfit, with bandages peeking out from the long white sleeves and the red skirt touching the floor. A white eye patch covered her right eye and her ribbons looked torn up a little.

"Isn't it cool?" Yaya said. "Yaya thinks she'll get plenty of people scared!"

"I hope that doesn't include you," I said, then quickly added once I saw Yaya's expression, "I'm just joking! I'm just joking!"

Amu came over with a box full of more animals. "Hey, Yaya. Wow, you look great!"

Yaya beamed with satisfaction. "What did Yaya tell you? Yaya's classmate is a good classmate!" She spun around, making the skirt puff out and the bandages and sleeves spin. Talk about opposites… Yaya stopped and looked at Amu and me. "Amu-chi and Rima-tan look so cute!" she said.

"You think?" Amu said, twirling herself, and then quickly adjusting her cat ears before they fell in her face.

Yaya nodded. "You guys are going to be so great! But not as great as Yaya's haunted house!"

"Oh really?" Amu said, raising her eyebrow as if it was a challenge.

Yaya stuck her tongue out. "You'll see! Yaya will scare lots of people!"

"Yuiki-san! We need you down here! Festival's about to begin in 45 minutes and somebody forgot the tape up the cobwebs!"

Yaya jumped at the sound of her name. "Yaya has to go!" she said quickly, before running to the stairs, calling, "Yaya's coming! Yaya's coming! Gee, be patient for once!" Amu giggled and I just rolled my eyes. This is going to be a long day…

~.~.~

"Welcome to our animal boutique! How can I help you?"

I heard the door shift open and somebody shout a greeting from the doorway. I paid no attention to who it was. Yes, the cultural festival was up and running and I was stuck in the middle of the chaos. We transformed our classroom into something as close as a classroom can get to a stuffed animal store: desks lined up the walls and several were pushed to form aisles, all lined up with boxes and boxes of, guess what, stuffed animals. The blobs that somehow seemed to make themselves look like actual animals were piled up into boxes by animal and the boxes were then organized by color, so it looked like a huge spectrum full of deer and dogs and cats and bears and so on. In the back we had some boxes in case we ran out, but I don't think we needed to. We already had a lot piled. Outside, Amu and a few other students were out with some sample animals spread out on a table, what I had the pleasure to arrange before this had started, trying to attract more people, anybody from teachers to students to family members. Speaking of family, Mom and Dad had yet to drop by, but they promised to come by before the festival ended.

"Mashiro-san! Can you handle this customer?" I heard the person who greeted whoever entered to me.

"Sure," I said blankly, turned around and nearly crashed into Nagihiko. Yes, that Nagihiko. I stopped and backed up at least two meters away from him.

Nagihiko looked a bit shocked but before I could actually process the expression that came across his face, he changed it back to his annoying smile. "That's not a proper way to greet a customer," he said.

"S-shut up," I said. Why was I stuttering? It's just an idiot who somehow figured out I was Rei and now holds my whole world is in his hands: how I excel in Japanese and that I am Rei. Yeah, no big deal. Right?

Nagihiko looked around the room and all its rainbow glory. "Your class did a wonderful job," he said. "It's all really cute." I didn't reply, so he tried to make some more conversation. "I…like your antlers."

"Blame Amu," I mumbled.

He ignored my comment, or perhaps he didn't hear it. "I think it makes you look cute."

"S-say that again and I'll kill you," I said.

"Now that isn't nice, Rima-chan," Nagihiko said, sending me straight back to a few weeks ago, when I had that chat with him. If he's going to bring it up right here and right now, I swear I would punch him. I tried to clench my hands into tight fists in case he did, but they felt like loose and sweaty fists instead of fists you'd hit somebody with. Nagihiko continued, "I just thought I'd stop by before I get to work at my classroom. You aren't that busy, are you?"

"Take a look around," I mumbled.

Nagihiko raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright, Rima-chan?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine…" I mumble, avoiding all possible eye contact with him. Though it was kind of easy, you know, height difference and all.

"You aren't your usual self today," Nagihiko said. "Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, confidence swelling in me. "I am positively fine. Stop bothering me. I'm perfectly fine." The more I say it, the more I feel like I'm lying. Why is this happening to me, of all people? Can't it happen to Amu? Why can't Amu be the one who gives advice to others and has a secret? Why me? I wanted to punch myself but at the same time I did not want people to think I'm crazy.

"Rima-chan?"

I look past Nagihiko and his tallness only to see Mom and Dad coming towards us. Drat. Nagihiko turned to see who I was looking at.

"Oh, Rima-chan, you look cute," Mom said, taking a glance at my outfit.

"Thanks," I said, silently sending a telepathic message to Nagihiko to get out of my way

Dad didn't seem to notice what I was wearing. "Who is this young man?" he asked, looking at Nagihiko.

Shoot. "Um, Mom, Dad, this is Fujisaki Nagihiko…" I quickly caught myself. What else am I supposed to say? He's my friend? No way, not in a million years.

Nagihiko took my pause as a chance to jump in. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he bowed politely.

"Look at those manners!" Mom gushed. Dad looked at him through squinted eyes, then put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I'm have to talk to you, Rima-chan." Now, I love my dad and everything, but when he has to talk to you, that mean serious business. But, why me? Confused, I followed him and he led me to a quiet corner in the classroom.

"Now, Rima-chan," he said. "How long have you known Fujisaki-kun?"

"Um…" I said, thinking for a bit. "Since fourth grade…I think."

"And why have I never heard you talk about him?"

I shrugged. "I don't have a reason to talk about him?" I said, a little uncertainty in there.

"Are you good friends with him?"

"Not really…"

Dad sighed. "I'm getting nowhere with this…" he mumbled a little too loudly, then added in a louder tone, "Rima-chan, you're in eighth grade now. You're growing up and you're starting to make your own decisions. I don't know what your relations with Fujisaki-kun are, but I don't want you to make a wrong decision. I know I have joked about this in the past, but you're awfully young for things like these. I don't want to barge in too much, but if things get out of hand, I'm here for you."

I nodded slowly. What was my dad talking about?

He continued. "Just be careful, Rima-chan. I want you to have some freedom in your life, but I don't want you to make bad decisions with that freedom. So, do me a favor, and think carefully before you act."

I blinked. That was…confusing. "Okay, Dad, I promise I will," I said, pretending I understood everything he had said.

Dad smiled and patted my shoulder. "That's my girl," he said. "Now come on, I think I let your mother talk to Fujisaki-kun enough. Poor fellow's ears must be tired."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't think Nagihiko is too bothered," I mumbled. As we made our way back and Dad found Mom looking at the stuffed animals, I thought back to what Dad was saying. I'm not that young, am I? And what does Nagihiko have to do with anything? Dad's words rung in my ears and brain as I returned to work, with thankfully no Nagihiko in sight. According to Mom, he had to go back to his classroom. That's good.

~.~.~

When I finished my shift and Amu's hers, Yaya came speeding down the hallway before I could take a breath.

"Amu-chi! Rima-tan!" She grabbed us by the necks and gave us a tight hug.

"Ow ow ow," Amu said. "Yaya…can't…breathe…"

Yaya let go of us both and quickly apologized. Yaya was still in her shrine maiden costume, but she removed the eye patch and the bandages. "Yaya had a lot of fun scaring people!" she said right after. "There were so many screams!"

"Are you sure those weren't yours?" I asked, rubbing my neck while Amu rubbed hers. Yaya pouted at my comment, so I added, "I'm only kidding, jeez."

Yaya stopped pouting and bounced up and down, "How was Rima-tan's stuffed animal booth? One of Yaya's classmates said that she bought a really cute bear there!"

"Everything is fine," Amu answered for me, then quickly groaned, "Augh, I'm hungry. I skipped breakfast to get here early!" Her stomach agreed with her with a loud growl, causing Amu to jump and turn tomato red.

"I need a snack too," I said. "I worked hard over there. God knows how many ninth graders I had to put up with over there…"

"Yaya is hungry too!" Yaya said. "Oh! Why don't we all go to Nagi's class! They have a café, right?"

"Yeah, I think they do," Amu said.

"Wait, wait, wait," I quickly cut in. "I don't think we should go there. I heard that some ninth graders have a café, too. Why don't we go there?"

"But ninth graders are scary!" Yaya whined.

"It's probably better to go to Nagi's," Amu said. "Besides, there are other people in Class A besides Nagi. Remember Izumi, Akane, and Yuki?"

"It's 2-1! Rima's overruled!" Yaya gleefully shouted, earning a smack to the head from yours truly.

"Come on, Rima," Amu pleaded. "It's just down the hall, too!"

I sighed. "Fine," I mumbled. Amu and Yaya cheered with glee at my response. And that's how we ended up in front of Class A's door, which had a large light pink sign on it. It was decorated with lace on the edges and, in red permanent marker, read "Café 2-A." Well, looks like somebody wasn't creative enough…

Yaya slid open the door and we all walked inside the classroom. Izumi rushed to us. She had on a cream-colored apron tied over what appeared to be the school uniform's crisp white shirt and green plaid skirt. A green ribbon was tied in Izumi's ponytail and a notepad poked out of a pocket in the apron. Izumi grinned, "Hey g-Welcome to our café! Let me show you to your table." She bowed and then showed us to a small round table. Izumi handed us a small menu, cutely decorated with stickers and colored in with what looks like a combination of marker and colored pencil. "We currently are out of the strawberry shortcake, but we'll have it in a short time!"

"Woah, Izumi-tan is really polite," Yaya said.

Izumi pretended to not hear Yaya and continued, "May I take your order right now?"

"When did you get all polite, Izumi?" Amu asked.

"Shh…" Izumi said through her smile. "Sensei told us we have to act polite to our customers. Now may I take your order?" She said the last sentence in a peppy tone that seriously shot a chill down my spine. This is seriously creepy…

"Um…" I said, trying to ease the situation. "I'll have…the strawberry parfait?"

"Yaya wants the chocolate cake!"

"I'll have the same as Rima," Amu said.

Izumi jotted everything down in her notepad. "Okay then! Your order will be coming here shortly!" She hurried off, leaving us all in a stunned silence.

"That was…" I said.

"...Surreal," Amu finished my sentence for me. "Sensei must be working her students hard if Izumi has to be like that. Oh, Akane! Hi!" Amu quickly raised her hand in greeting as another of our Class A friends came by.

Akane stopped. She was in a uniform similar to Izumi's, except her green ribbon was tied in her hair like a headband, with the ribbon tied neatly to the side of her head. "Oh, hello there, Hinamori-chan," she said. "I didn't realize you came. I take it that Izumi-chan showed you around?"

"Pretty much," I said.

"Don't worry," Akane smiled. "Izumi-chan's just stressed with the crowd. She'll get used to this. She gets used to large crowd watching her play basketball, so she'll get used to waiting on tables."

"Hey! Akane! That's my table!" Izumi came to us with a large plate with the items Amu, Yaya, and I had ordered. The parfait was red and pink with touches of white all in what appeared to be a glass cup. My stomach growled with approval, making me realize how hungry I actually was.

"Actually, I'm not on shift, Izumi-chan," Akane said with a smile.

"Touché," Izumi said.

"Izumi-tan and Akane-tan look so cute!" Yaya ignored what Akane and Izumi were talking about to look at their outfits closely.

"Thank you, Yuiki-chan," Akane said. "Though I don't think it's much. Sensei had us on a strict budget."

"Oh, shut up, Akane," Izumi said, elbowing her with a smirk pasted on her face. "You know you like it because Jiro blushed when he saw you." Akane turned a little red in the face.

"Um, Jiro's Akane's…boyfriend, right?" Amu asked uncertainly.

"That's right," Izumi said, answering for Akane, putting her arm around a blushing Akane. "Dude grew bright red when he saw her in an apron, I tell you."

Just then, a familiar soft voice came from behind Yaya. "I see you're discussing Akane's relationship again, Izumi-chan," Yuki said. Yaya jumped, so Yuki added, "Oh, my apologies, Yaya-chan."

"Wow, your outfit is really nice, Yuki!" Amu said. Yuki looked down at her outfit, a blue and white sailor uniform with a yellow ribbon on it and a blue pleated skirt, and shrugged.

"How's the otaku fest going, Yuki?" Izumi said.

"The _exhibition_ is doing well, Izumi-chan," Yuki said, with particular emphasis on the word exhibition. "We've just closed for a lunch break, but we'll be open again for the afternoon. How's the café?"

"It's doing great!" Izumi said. And that's how the conversation went, we swapped stories from each of our classrooms as Amu, Yaya, and I all munched on our snacks. Izumi brought us some sandwiches for lunch, which was spectacularly delicious.

"Who made all of this?" I asked Izumi.

"Fujisaki, of course," Izumi said, causing me to choke on my sandwich. "Whoa, there! Slow down, Rima!"

"Careful, Rima-chan."

Oh, speak of the devil. I turned around and Nagihiko had joined us. Like Akane and Izumi, he had on an apron thrown over his school uniform minus the coat and tie. A smile was plastered on his face. What have I done to deserve Nagihiko in my life?

"Hey, why are you out here, Fujisaki?" Izumi asked.

"I'm not on shift anymore, Izumi-chan," Nagihiko said. "Your brother and Kirishima-kun took over for me."

"Oh, bother," Izumi grumbled. "Now the customers are going to slow down…" Nagihiko laughed.

"I see that you are enjoying yourselves, right?" Nagihiko looked at Amu and Yaya.

Yaya nodded, her mouth stuffed with cake. Amu answered for both of them, "The food so good, Nagi! You really are a good cook!"

Nagihiko laughed. "It's only what I learned from my mother, really."

"Oh, stop being modest, Fujisaki," Izumi said. "Everything you do turns out awesome! Do you have any flaws at all?"

"I don't think so…" Nagihiko said. Izumi smacked him on the shoulder, causing everyone to titter.

The conversation buzzed and Nagihiko was at the center of it all. Me? I didn't really participate that much. Not even Nagihiko addressed me, not since he joined at least. It was like I was invisible to him. In other circumstances, I wouldn't have minded. A moment without Nagihiko talking to me is a treasured moment. But, it felt…weird. Like something was out of place. I mean, he figured out my biggest secret! He should be putting in subtle blackmail and drop hints! Isn't that what he did when he figured out that I was good at Japanese? What is up with him?

You know what: everything is weird today.

~.~.~

"Attention, attention. The culture festival is ending. Stick around though for an outdoor bonfire!"

"Alright!" Amu shouted, jumping and throwing her cat ears up in celebration. A day had whisked by filled with festivities and now it's over. Amu and I had just finished our last shift back at our stuffed animal booth. A wave of relief washed over me as I took off my antlers for the last time. "We did it, Rima!" Amu hugged me.

"Calm down," I said. "There's still the bonfire to sit through." I remembered last year, the bonfire was pretty awkward. Everybody had somebody to dance with, and I was sitting in the grass. If it wasn't for Sensei making everybody pair up in the end, I would have been stuck there. Not that I liked it, of course. Half the boys' hands were so sweaty that my hands kept slipping and I stepped on everybody's toes.

"Right, right," Amu said, letting go of me. "Oh yeah! We promised to walk down together with Izumi, Yaya, and the others!"

"We did?" I said.

"We did," Amu replied. "Remember? Back during lunch?" I thought back to it. Maybe that did come up at one point, but I had zoned out during that time because nobody bothered to talk to me.

"I guess…" I said.

Amu rolled her eyes. "Come on, Rima, let's hurry up with cleaning up. We promised to meet by the staircase!"

I followed Amu and when we got to the stairs, sure enough, there was everybody: Izumi, Akane, Yuki, Yaya, and, of course, Nagihiko. "Rima-tan! Amu-chi!" Yaya waved at us. "Come on!" Amu rushed ahead of me to greet everybody else. Just when I caught up, everybody was heading downstairs. Everybody that is, except for Nagihiko.

Nagihiko took my arm. "Can we talk, Rima-chan?" he asked. His voice was soft, cracking just a little, like he was broken…or weak. But that's impossible, he's a Fujisaki.

I frowned and shook my arm out of his grip. "No," I said, and started to make my way down. Nagihiko's voice followed down, pleading.

"Please, Rima-chan. I really need to talk to you."

I paused. What did he need to tell me? If this was about Rei, I don't think I could bear to listen to him say that again. _I know you are Rei_… Why does he have to remind me again? Shouldn't he be going to the public right about now? I mean, now would be a perfect time to spread rumors. And by rumors, I mean the truth. But…if he wants to tell me again…at least it's better than him telling it to my friends. At least it's me.

"Fine," I mumbled, and turned around. A look of relief crossed Nagihiko's face as he led me to a classroom.

The classroom was dark, with the desks still arranged in what they were supposed to be for this room. In the windows, I could spy the warm glow and the sparks floating upward from the bonfire. The only noise I could hear was the sounds coming from outside, the laughter and babble of everybody over folk music playing from the speakers.

Nagihiko sat himself on a desk, his feet still touching the floor, and patted a desk next to him for me to sit on. I obeyed, hopping on with my feet dangling off the edge. Curse you, shortness.

I started, "If this is about Rei…" but Nagihiko cut me off.

"Do you remember that one short story you wrote?" he asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "The one with the fat cheating monk?"

"No, not that one," Nagihiko said, a small smile appearing on his face before it disappeared. "The one about the boy. What was his name? Ichiro? Yeah, I think that's what his name was… Anyways, he was only a villager, right? But Ichiro wanted to be a warrior, so he got himself a wooden stick and paraded around town with it."

"What does that have to-" I said, but was cut off again by Nagihiko.

"Everybody laughed at Ichiro. They told him he was only a young boy, he was no warrior. But Ichiro persevered. He knew he was a warrior. But then, one day, a group of demons attacked Ichiro's village. They killed the crops and kidnapped children. Passing samurais tried to get rid of them, but the demons slaughtered them. Then Ichiro stood up. At first, the demons laughed. 'You're just a little boy,' they said. 'You're no match for us.' But Ichiro knew better. He took stones and threw them at the demons, blinding them all. Then he took his stick, and killed them all."

"Um, I'm not in the mood to hear the gruesome bits of my stories…" I said.

Nagihiko ignored me. He was looking out the window, gazing out at the sparks that flew up from the bonfire. "Here comes my favorite part," he said. "After all the demons were killed, the town realized what a hero Ichiro actually was. In honor of it all, they made Ichiro an actual warrior, giving him everything that a warrior needs."

"Um, yeah," I said. "I know I write well and all, but the point is?"

"The point is," Nagihiko said, turning back to me with a look of seriousness on his face, "is that, like Ichiro was never truly a warrior until the end, I never actually told you how I truly feel.

"I-I liked you, Rima-chan. I don't know how it started, but somehow, I liked you. You were cute in your own way and you weren't like anybody else I knew. Like…a flame amid ice cubes. Forgive me for that terrible simile, but you were like that. You had your own thing and it affected everybody around you. I'm sorry if this is sounding really cheesy. Your stories are quite good, and I enjoyed reading them. They had this certain flair to them…like Rei's blogs. When my account got hacked, I made a new one so I could still follow Rei's blogs. I was too embarrassed by the username I created, so I chose not to give it out. Every day, I read your blogs and I felt like I understood how Rei felt. Like Rei was feeling farther away from A-chan at times, I felt like I was far away from you, Rima-chan.

"When I started talking to Rei as BluePinkFlowers…I don't know. It was like having a friend with me. Rei was very kind and she had your flair. That was probably when I got a clue on who Rei actually was. When I got my old account back, I kept BluePinkFlowers because I still wanted to talk with you. If I talked to you as myself, I knew you would only reject me. I didn't want to feel that, so I kept BluePinkFlowers running. When you asked me about my life, I wasn't too sure if I wanted to. If it was really you, I knew you would get mad. But I tried anyways, and I'm sorry if I annoyed you…

"I-I'm also sorry about the field trip, Rima-chan. It was only a dare from Ito-kun. He had no idea, but he knew that I wanted to be friends with you, so he figured it would push my buttons or something. After the field trip, I don't know. I thought you were mad at me, which you probably were. I was confused, too, about how I felt. What happened at the field trip made me confused, and the rumors didn't help. I was absolutely positive you didn't want to be near me ever again, but, somehow, I tried still to be close. I'm really sorry about the summer, Rima-chan.

"When school came back around and Sensei wanted us to work together, I thought it was a chance for you to forgive me. A blank slate, I guess. But when I left BluePinkFlowers running and you found out…I got embarrassed. But, my suspicions became the truth, too. By your reaction, I somehow knew you were Rei. That was kind of comforting in its way…that we had our identities that nobody else knew about…I knew that you knew who I was, so I thought it'd be fair for you to know that I knew that you were Rei…I'm sorry if I scared you…

And today…I was completely lost. I wasn't sure how you felt about me now. I probably just ruined your life. I thought that you were considered me now a life destroyer. I'm really, really sorry for what I've done, Rima-chan. I just want you to know…that I like you. I really like you…"

Nagihiko stopped for a little and looked away from me in embarrassment. I, on the other hand, was shocked. Was this really happening? Did Nagihiko just…confess? What was I supposed to do? Answer back? Well, that's the civil way of doing things… But…how? I don't think I want to turn him down…but I don't know how I feel… My brain started to take me back to moments in time…Of how Akane and her boyfriend are around each other…how Izumi forced them together so much…I thought about Nagihiko during the summer festival, giving me that teddy bear…I then thought of Dad and his words.

…_think carefully before you act…_

Before I act…think… I thought about how I acted before, and I thought of how things could be… Finally, after some thought, I knew what to say.

"I'm sorry, Nagihiko," I said. Nagihiko looked up, obviously surprised by my words. "I-I don't think this could work out…"

Nagihiko was silent for a moment, then spoke up, "I understand comple-"

I cut Nagihiko off. "But," I said, looking down at my swinging feet, "I might consider becoming friends." I paused before adding, "I've hated you for all I can remember, so I don't think a relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend or whatever it is called is really what we should jump to just yet. Maybe in the far future, but now I think I should focus on not wanting to strangle you. Is that fine?"

I looked at Nagihiko. He stared back in silence. After what seemed like hours, though it might as well be a minute, he finally spoke up, "…Sure, Rima-chan." He smiled at me.

"You really are okay with this?" I asked.

"Perfectly fine," he said. "So, what do friends do?"

I thought about it for moment, then answered, "Friends should…walk down to the bonfire together. Come on, let's go." I hopped off my desk and went to the door, where Nagihiko followed me all the way down to the bonfire where everybody else was.

The bonfire was in full swing and everybody was dancing. I spotted Amu and everybody else in a circle. Izumi had managed to get Akane and Jiro dancing, while Amu and Yuki were with Ritsu and Fuyuki, respectively. Probably also Izumi's work. Yaya and Izumi, not wanting to be left, danced awkwardly together. Yaya saw us first, and let go of Izumi's hand to wave to us.

"Rima-tan! Nagi! There you are!"

Everybody else turned heads and I looked at Nagihiko in discomfort. Nagihiko shrugged and stepped a few steps away from me, as if to tell everybody that we were just friends. He waved back at Yaya.

"Where were you guys?" Izumi said once we came closer to them.

"Rima-chan helped me clean up the mess that our class left the classroom," Nagihiko said quickly.

"Hey!" Izumi said. "I thought it was neat enough! And so did everybody else."

"Last time I checked," Yuki said, joining the conversation with Fuyuki in tow, "you just wanted to get down here quicker to make Akane-chan and Jiro-kun dance together."

"Hey! That isn't true!" Izumi said, folding her arms. Yuki gave her a look. "Well, it sort of is, but that's not the point!"

"Enough talking!" Yaya whined, jumping up and down. "Let's dance!" We obeyed the pigtailed underclassmen and pretty soon there was a huge circle of all of us: Izumi, Akane, Yuki, Izumi's brother Ritsu, Jiro, Fuyuki, Nagihiko, and me. I was between Amu and Nagihiko, creating a huge valley between the two. Nagihiko's hand was in mine, but there was no bubbles or anything romantic. It was a friendly hand holding. I looked up at the night sky, dotted with a few stars and the sparks from the fire flying upward, then I looked in front of me and saw the friends I had made this year, and the one I made just a few moments ago. I couldn't help what happened next. I smiled.

* * *

**IT'S OVER! (cue the confetti)**

**That's it, my dear readers. I can't believe it. Nearly a year of this. It feels so long ago since I uploaded this. I don't even feel like it's actually over. Hopefully you liked the ending. If there's any random fan crying over the fact that Nagihiko and Rima are only friends, well I'd like to think it the logical way. This could end the stereotypical way, in which the girl ends up with the guy and everything is all the more cheesier, or I could pull a sudden turn and go the more logical way. No, seriously, I think Rima explains it quite well than I can. You really can't suddenly become boyfriend and girlfriend when one end hated the other for a long time. As my beta reader once put it, Rima can't wake up one day and say to herself, "I love Nagihiko." In my opinion, some things take time. Romance is one of them.**

**Special thanks to my sister slash beta reader. Without you, I wouldn't be beating myself up so much about sentence fluency and grammar. I'd also like to thank you guys. Without you, this story would've disappeared in the backs of the Shugo Chara archive. But look at it, just a little over 200 reviews and probably even more. Thank you guys for the kind words and the pointers you've given me in all 200+ of those. You guys deserve Internet hugs.**

**What? What's that? It's not over? If you could kindly look at your navigation bar thingamajig in the bottom right corner (the one that has all the witty chapter titles), there's still one more to go! But you thought it was the end? Well, it is, but there's a little epilogue. And maybe some side commentary about this journey known as Ask Rei from me. I was going to put it here, but I realized that this was long enough and decided to put it in a separate document. So stop reading this and click away!**


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Two Months Later**

"Hey, you!"

I turned away from my conversation from Nagihiko only to nearly collide with a tall ninth grader. Fortunately, my reflexes responded quickly, I jumped aside and instead she collided with Nagihiko.

_Crash!_

"Ouch," Nagihiko said. "Why do I have to be the wall?"

"You're taller, so you can take it," I replied.

"Touché," he said, getting to his feet and brushing any dust off him.

"Ouch…" the ninth grader rubbed her head, then jumped up. "Sorry," she said to Nagihiko, then turned to me. "You're Mashiro Rima, right?"

I looked up at her. She was huge, towering over even Nagihiko, with red hair all pulled back into a high ponytail and thick eyebrows. Like something you'll find under your bed or in you closet. Yikes… "Uh, yeah, that's me," I said.

"Oh, good," she looked relieved, then quickly bowed. "Please give me advice!"

For anybody who's confused, let me explain. I think it was a month ago or so, maybe even a week after the culture festival, but Nagihiko started to bother me about it. So, after a whole month of bother and several close calls, I did it. I wrote a blog from Rei explaining everything. That's right, I told the Internet that Rei was just an Internet handle name and I'm actually, well, me. Mashiro Rima. Since then, lots of people at school have come up to me, all with the same question: if I could help them with their problems. I tried to explain that I'm actually not that great at advice, but they wouldn't listen. In the end, I gave in, and situations like these happen now almost on a daily basis.

"Um…" I said. "Sure, what do you want?"

The upperclassman got up from her bow and started to twiddle her thumbs. "Well, there's this guy I like… But he's scared of me. I heard he likes cute girls, too. What should I do? Should I make myself cute?"

I looked at Nagihiko, giving him a look saying that this is all his fault. Nagihiko shrugged. He got used to that look a long time ago. I looked back at my current problem and bit my lip. "Hm…well, I say, think about it before you act. If it makes you uncomfortable to be cute, then this guy isn't worthwhile." I quickly added, "but if you really like him, then I say make him fall for yourself. No changes. If he only likes you when you're cute, then he isn't worth it."

There was a silence and I got scared. What if this girl got angry and punched me? I saw Nagihiko clench a fist in case his friend got hurt. The upperclassman finally spoke up. "…You're right. He is a loser. If he can't like me as I am, then he's not worth my time! Thank you, Mashiro-san!" Before I could reply back, she sped down the hallway and out of my sight.

Nagihiko chuckled. "She was…lively."

"More like scary," I said.

"That was really deep advice you gave her."

"Shut up," I said. Since Dad talked to me two months ago at the festival, I've been throwing that phrase around a lot. Think before you act. It had a nice ring to it and it really was good advice, the best that I've ever given and received. I used it every day. Every time I got mad and wanted to punch something, I thought of those words and I knew I shouldn't do what I was going to do. And they all worked out all right.

"Come on," Nagihiko said. "I have to get to class. You?"

"Probably the same," I said. "See you at lunch." I waved farewell to Nagihiko and turned to my classroom door.

"Hey, Rima!" Amu waved when I came in and settled at my desk.

"Hi, Amu," I said. "You don't need more help, do you?"

Amu laughed nervously. "No, I'm fine, thanks. But listen, that advice you gave me about balancing out my work was awesome! Thank you so much! I don' t forget any of my books!"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," I said. Just then, Boring English Teacher came in.

"Good morning, class," Boring English Teacher boomed in his monotone voice.

"Good morning, Sensei!"

As homeroom droned on, I looked outside and thought back to a year ago. I used to complain about a lot of things, how dull and boring things were. I got such a thrill talking as Rei. But, looking at it now, I think I'm happier now. Instead of talking to people shrouded in mystery, I can talk to people as myself. Mashiro Rima.

And I felt happy about it.

**The Journey of Ask Rei, the Story of How This Came Around and Other Notes**

**Long, long ago, when I was a weeaboo, I had just started creating fanfiction stories for Shugo Chara. One of the ideas, is this thing here. I wanted to do a Rimahiko story, and this thing just sort of fell on me: of how Rima worked a website that was a secret and how real life starts to mix in with her cyber life. Wanting to be witty, I chose Rima's Internet handle name to be Rei, which is explained quite well in the first chapter. For those who are lazy and don't want to navigate away, I knew Rima was an Arabic name from some baby book I found a while ago. I Googled up the meaning and learned it meant antelope. I put antelope into an English-Japanese dictionary and found out antelope in Japanese is **_**reiyou. **_**So I just took the first syllable and, thus, we have the title Ask Rei. I wrote the first two chapters and later part of the third around the same time, so there probably is a definite jump in quality.**

**I resurfaced it a year later and developed more plot, adding in things like the school field trip. I think it was only after I wrote the fourth chapter did I add in everything else. As in explained last chapter, I didn't want a really cheesy ending, so I opted for the friend ending as a twist.**

**Other Cool Stuff:**

**-Originally, Izumi, Akane, Yuki and Nagihiko's basketball buddies were supposed to be the only original characters there, along with the Japanese teacher. But then I created Boring English Teacher and somehow he got more mentions in it than everybody else. Wimpy Nakamura is a smaller example of this, but gosh darn it, Boring English Teacher…**

**-The use of Japanese folk tales also came by accident. I recently had a lesson on folk tales, and there was a Japanese one, so I added in for the Japanese teacher's lesson in…chapter five? I think it was chapter five. It popped up again during the school field trip and then I thought it'd be cool to tie in Rima's original stories to Nagihiko's points.**

**-In the beginning, Ask Rei was just a story for the lulz for my younger self, but now it actually has a few morals to it. One of them is to not date in middle school. It usually doesn't work out. The other is to think before you act. The former is my favorite, personally.**

**-If anybody is asking about the blue cats and Amu, I'm just writing that to mess with the Amuto fanbase. I don't support Amuto in any shape or form. Sorry.**

**And for anybody who is asking or going to ask about what I'm going to do now and if I'm going to write more mult-chapter Shugo Chara stories, I don't see any particular good ideas for a Shugo Chara story. I probably will drop a few one-shots here and there in various places besides here, but I don't really want to tackle another Shugo Chara multi-chapter just yet. Maybe a Kukai/Yaya one-shot in the future (because Yaya's lines were fun to write in Ask Rei and that pairing deserves a lot more love than it gets currently. Darn you, Kutau…) but it might take a while to come up with something. So just be on the look out for me around here. I can pop up just about anywhere, shoot a one-shot there, and disappear like a ninja. But I don't want to go into a huge hiatus. Just think of it as a small recharge before charging into battle. Either way, I got school to do, but I'm on vacation right now, so maybe a one-shot? Who knows…**

**Speaking of the future, I do however have an original story idea that'll appear on my deviantART account in the future quite possibly. I haven't worked everything out, but it's a good idea in my opinion, so look out for that. It probably won't be narrated like Rima in this, but it'll be a good read either way. So check out some of my other accounts for more info (I swear this originally was not supposed to be a shameless advertising for my other Internet accounts, but it turned out like this. Don't hit me.)**

**Thank you again for reading Ask Rei! I hope you enjoyed your time here! Until the next time I appear, bye!**


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